Christmas Miracle
by FAH3
Summary: FINISHED! What will happen to a certain green thief when she is visited by three spirits? Rated M for language.
1. The Warning

**Author's Note:** I know I've got others in the works, but I just wanted time to try and recharge the brain, so I'm writing this as a little short project. It does have anguage in it, but I was trying to make it more real and what Shego would say and do. Sorry about that. Only three more chapters left. And before I forget. I do not own Kim Possible or A Christmas Carol or work for them. I wrote this strictly for fun.

* * *

CHRISTMAS

MIRACLE

By FAH3

She just growled in frustration as she saw all her men celebrate the Holiday that drove her mad. Her idea of celebrating this greeting card created holiday was relaxing on a beach with the sun tanning her pale skin while she did her best to seduce the hot looking cabana boys. Instead, she was stuck in her hideout while the rest of the idiots she commanded were singing those annoying songs and drinking the horrible concoction known as Egg Nog. How anyone is ever able to stomach that putrid crap, she didn't want to know. How she hated this time of year.

"Merry Christmas, boss!" one thug shouted up at her as he and another exchanged gifts under the plastic nightmare that was supposed to resemble the annoying pine tree that were in countless homes across the world at the moment.

"Piss off." She growled to herself as she made her way back into her little office.

Shelia Go, also known as the world wanted thief and villain Shego, was trying her best not to claw her hair out. It had been almost three years since she had to help her nemesis, Kim Possible, stop the alien invasion of Earth and she hated the fact that for awhile, everyone saw her as a hero. She just tried to relax as she sank into her black leather chair as she tried to forget that it was Christmas again. In the immortal words of Scrooge, BAH, HUMBUG! She hated all the colorful decorations, the annoying music, everyone being nice, and she loathed hearing that dead bastard Bing Crosby!

Bing Crosby got on her nerves so much! Why did everyone like listening to that man? He was a jerk when he was alive, and he used to beat his kids! The world was more screwed up than she even knew, and even more so every time Christmas rolled around. At least she was safe from all that nonsense in her office. At one point, it had been the room of her former employer, Dr. Drakken.

Over a year ago, Drakken was working on another stupid doomsday device without thinking all the way through like he usually did. While trying to figure out a way to make sure the device got power, he accidentally hotwired the self destruct device. Why did he always put one of those things in the lair? When Drakken tried to power up the thing, he blew up half the lair and the explosion took him with it. In his will, he left everything to Shego. So as soon as she had returned to the new lair, she immediately turned his room into her own little office.

She had made several attempts at taking over the world after knowing what _not_ to do and had almost succeeded. The key word was almost. As always, Kim possible had arrived right before the plan would be complete, and handed their butts to them. How did she do it? With Dr. D being foiled, it was always obvious. But this was her! SHEGO! How did she foil her? She had gotten rid of the self-destruct devices in the blue prints for any new lair, and she didn't do any half-assed hack job like Dr. Drakken. But she always, _ALWAYS_, beat her! HOW?!

As she tried to will her headache away, she began to hear music coming through her door. Not just any music, but Christmas music! She gritted her teeth as she did her best to keep her emerald fire under control. The last time she flared up in anger, she had lost a chair that was actually from the court of King Louis. Her fists tightened so hard that she could hear her knuckles pop as the music seemed to only grow louder and louder. With one massive scream, she grabbed her coat and began making her way to the hanger.

Screw this crap! The only way she would be getting any rest tonight was at her private hideout. The one place that was Christmas free, and it was only decorated with what she wanted. In minutes flat, she was in her hover car and flying through the night sky at almost Mach 1 to get away from the sounds of cheer and merriment.

The flight however didn't help to relax her already frustrated and frayed nerves. Below her, she could see so many reminders of what the time of year it was that it made her want to puke. Decorations, Christmas Tree lots, and holiday lights.

"Everyone down there is nuts!" she growled to herself as she tried to ignore the spectacle around her. "I don't care who says it. If anyone else says Merry Christmas to me again, I'll boil them in fig pudding and drive a steak of holly through their heart!" she said to herself.

When she reached her private safe house, she was going to open a bottle of wine and watch a good scary movie. Maybe The Fog. She had seen the original, but really wanted to see the remake with that Tom Welling guy. She didn't care if he was playing a goody two shoes on TV, she liked looking at the guy with his shirt off.

She glanced at her GPS to see how much longer she had to fly in the cold air before she finally reached the place she called home. She was reading the data on the small screen when it began to flicker on her. She slapped it a few times to get it to work, but that only made it worse. She was balling her fist to punch the device when she saw something that made her question her sight. It seemed that the image was warping until it formed into what she swore was Dr. Drakken.

"_Shego"_ it said in its digitized voice.

"Dr. D?" Shego asked before she closed her eyes tightly and shook her head vigorously. When she opened her eyes again, she only saw the normal layout of her GPS. "It's just stress. That's all it is. Too much work and having to deal with all this cheerful crap." Shego said to herself as she focused her eyes back onto the landscape in front of her.

* * *

Shego eased herself onto her soft mattress as she let the silken sheets comfort her bare flesh. Her glass of wine was nearly empty as she let the warmth of central heating keep her relaxed and smiling. With everything she had stolen over her career in crime, she was able to invest and save enough money for her to afford a penthouse in New York. Here, she was at home. It was better than staying in Dr. D's lairs and better than her old room back at the Go Tower. 

Here she was at ease and at peace. She opened her eyes and glanced into the TV screen to try and find a movie on one of the many television channels she had. She began flipping through the channels, but only found more shows and programs about Christmas were on. If it wasn't about Rudolph and Santa, then it was something else. Frustrated, she turned off her television. She wrapped herself in her green robe and began to look for a book to read in her book case. As she browsed at her titles, the TV came on. She glanced and saw it was on one of the numerous productions of Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol. She picked the remote up ff her bed and shut the TV off. As she began looking at the titles again, the television turned itself on again.

"Damn Japanese tech." Shego groaned as she tried to shut it off again, but found that it wasn't turning off. She looked at the screen, and saw that the movie was where Scrooge was facing his door knocker. Her eyes widened though as the image of the knocker changed not into an image of Jacob Marley, but Dr. Drakken!

"Shego." It said.

"You're not real. I'm just buzzed is all. You're not there!" Shego said as she closed her eyes again, and opened them to find that the TV was off. "I'm so tempted to go to sleep in my office right now." Shego said to herself as she grabbed a book from the shelf and quickly crawled into bed.

She glanced at the book and saw it was none other than a copy of A Christmas Carol that she was holding in her hands.

"You've got to be joking." She said to herself as she saw the book. Wait, when did she own a copy of this book?

As she began to try and think, she heard something. At first, she thought it was normal house noises from the combination of heat and cold, until she heard it again. It was – knocking? Three knocks against the front door of her front door. Good luck to anyone trying to get in. She kept that thing dead bolted, and only her thumb print could make it open for anyone to get in or out. As she flipped through the book's pages, her heart almost stopped as she heard the front door unlock and slowly open. She closed the book and carefully balled her fist as a small glow began to emit from it.

She could hear the footsteps approaching her bedroom door; walking slowly. She kept her bedroom door locked as well. Living in New York City, no one could be too careful. Her eyes were glued to it the entire time as she heard the footsteps grow louder as they came to her bedroom door. She could hear them practically on top of her bedroom door now. If they tried to break in, they'd be eating hot plasma energy for dinner tonight. For a moment, all was silent and still. No sound except for her breathing. That's when the knocks echoed through out her room like cannon fire. Three knocks against her door.

She did nothing except keeping her glowing hand ready for any kind of attack. Slowly, three more knocks echoed across her bedroom.

"You're not getting in here, asshole! So unless you want third degree burns as a Christmas gift, you better get out of here now!" she shouted toward the door.

Her eyes widened in a mixture of both shock and surprise as she saw the dead bolt turn, several locks unlock themselves, and a code lock beep and turn green to show the magnetic locks were disengaged. The door slowly opened as she aimed her fist toward the door. When the door was fully opened, her mouth fell slack as her heart rate sped and her breath caught in her throat.

"Merry Christmas, Shego." The ghostly apparition said to her.

"D-Dr. D?" she asked him as the fire around her hand became extinguished.

It looked like Drakken. It was as if he was standing right in front of her. His clothes were partially charred and his skin looked like he had smoke stains all over himself, but he was standing there in front of her like he was still alive and breathing.

"Y-you're supposed to be d-d,"

"Dead? Tell me about it." Drakken said as he walked to her book case and took a seat in a chair near it. "You wouldn't happen to have anything to drink, would you? It's been awhile since I've had something to quench my thirst." He said calmly, like it was one of their normal meetings together.

"T-there's some wine I hadn't finished." she said as she pointed to the glass on her bedside table, still dumb struck.

"Oh, thank you very much." he said as he stood, walked to the glass, and drank the alcohol in one gulp. Both looked down when they heard something spill and both saw the wine splattered on the hardwood floor. "Damn. I keep forgetting about that." He said to her.

"B-but you're – you're supposed to be d-dead." She said to him again.

"I'm afraid I am, Shego. I have been for almost two years now." He said to her like he had received a bad haircut.

"Oh. Okay." She said as he took his seat again, her mind still not fully accepting that her dead boss was talking to her at that moment. "So – what brings you here?" she asked him as she tried to get her mind to working again.

"I came to talk to you." He told her.

"Talk to me? About what?" she asked him.

"Much, Shego. Unlike what I did when I was alive, I've come to help save you." He told her.

"Save me? I think getting your butt blown away might have scrambled your brain, Dr. D. I can handle myself." She told him.

"Not like this Shego. You know all the talk of hell, fire, and brimstone with monsters carrying pitchforks?" he asked her.

"Yeah?"

"It's not real." Drakken told her. Part of her let out a long sigh of relief at hearing that. That was one great fear of her chest. "It's worse." He said.

"Worse?" she asked him, puzzled by what he had just said.

"Different people receive different punishments. A former senator that was obsessed with money has to listen to all his speeches over and over again while he sits in what was once his favorite office. A murderer has to see the pain his victims went through, and then watch the pain that his victim's family and friends suffer because of him." Drakken told her, trying to give her a clue to punishment in the afterlife.

"And what did you get? A slap on the wrist?" she asked him.

"I have to watch all my failures and world conquest attempts play over and over again in the form of a cartoon show. With Kim Possible and her buffoon as the heroes." He told her flatly.

"Ouch." Shego said.

"That's how it ends for the great Dr. Drakken. Feared by many, and adored by women." Drakken said proudly.

"Adored? Come on, Dr. D. If there were any women, you either made them or paid for them." Shego said as she snickered.

"This isn't about me, Shego! This is about you. With everything you've done, you're headed to a worst fate than mine!" he said to her, with nothing but complete seriousness in his voice.

"Worse? How much worse?" she asked him.

"Believe me, Shego. You don't want to know. My suffering will be as nothing compared to yours. As each year passes, you've been making it worse and worse for yourself. When you finally pass on, your fate may very well be that of nightmares." He told her.

Now Shego never could scare easily. Through everything she had seen and faced through her years growing up as a hero, she knew the outcome of many things before they happened and had complete control over her emotions. But hearing her boss' words echo through her ears about something she had no training or experience with chilled her to her core. For the first time in ages, she was beginning to become frightened of her unknown future.

"Didn't you say something about saving me? I'm guessing there's a chance for me to avoid this little - punishment?" she asked the ghost in front of her.

"There is, Shego. It's you're only chance. You will be visited by three ghosts." Drakken told her.

"Three? Isn't that a little much?" she asked him.

"Expect the first one tomorrow at morning." Drakken said, ignoring Shego's remark. "The second will arrive at noon, and the third will come to you at evening. Listen to their words, Shego." Drakken said to her.

"Can't I just see them all at once? I'm a little busy lately." She asked him.

"THIS ISN'T A JOKE, SHEGO! THIS IS YOUR ONLY SHOT AT SAVING YOURSELF! IF YOU DON'T TAKE IT, YOU'LL SUFFER LIKE THEM!" Drakken shouted as he pointed to a window. As he did, the glass shattered and the screams and cries of thousands began to echo across her room. "Look out there, Shego! Look at the fate of our kind and several others!" Drakken ordered.

Shego didn't want to look, but curiosity had taken her over. She kept the sheet to her breasts, keeping them from being exposed to the chilled air of the city. As she did, she saw the ghostly forms of many people and super villains that had passed on through the years. Many were watching the poor as they did their best to help them. Only the people could not see the ghosts, and that caused the spirit's to scream and cry out in pain and anguish. She could have sworn she even saw Monkey Fist out there as one of the many suffering ghosts.

"Remember Shego! This is your last chance! SO DON'T SCREW IT UP!" Drakken shouted as he joined the rest of the spirits that were walking among the dead. The cries kept growing in volume and seemed to fill her bedroom. She covered her ears in a vain attempt to make them stop, to stop hearing them. They kept getting louder, like a wall of sound that was fixing to fall on top of her. She was ready to cry out when the noises stopped.

She opened her eyes slowly, and saw that her window was still intact. Her door was locked and in place, and her glass of wine was still untouched. Shego tried to catch her breathing and calm her nerves as she began to reel from what had happened. With a few deep breaths, she returned to her bead and said one word to describe what she had thought was a day dream.

"Bullshit!" she said as she turned off her light and went to bed.


	2. The Past

CHRISTMAS

MIRACLE

By FAH3

Shego had a headache that felt like the moon itself had fallen on her head. She didn't sleep well at all. At least, not since she had that horrible nightmare. Seeing Dr. Drakken again, and him warning her about three ghosts? God, this holiday was really getting to her this year. She felt horrible in the head, her body was soar from tossing and turning, and she could feel where a trail of drool had dried on her chin. She needed a good stiff drink.

She slowly made her way into the well stocked, and very well equipped, kitchen as her brain tried to regain full control of her motor functions. She walked past the large stainless steel fridge, she ignored the fully stocked pantry and moved her hands up to what looked like a normal part of the wood paneling. With one hard and swift knock against it, the paneling opened to reveal a hidden and very well stocked liquor cabinet. She grabbed a shot glass she had got from a Joe's Crab Shack during one very enjoyable Spring Break and a bottle of very expensive Vodka. She placed the shot glass on the marble counter and poured about half a shot of Vodka into it before she gulped it down.

A loud hiss escaped her lips as she felt the intense burning sensation go down her throat. She was awake now, but it was obvious it was too early in the morning for such a strong drink. She put the bottle back in the secret cabinet and chunked the glass into the sink, not even caring when she heard it shatter. Here it was, Christmas Eve and that meant this holiday was almost over with. New Years' she didn't mind. She loved the knock down parties and the drinks. Not to mention the chance of meeting some cute guy and some extra "fun."

She glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost seven thirty. That meant she had to go back to the damn lair and try and come up with something to make those dumb henchmen stop singing those carols and being so happy. She hated so much cheerfulness being around her. With that much sap, she could make pancake syrup. As she changed into her jumpsuit, her brain was thinking of what sh should do. Maybe she could attack Kimmie on Christmas Day. Yeah, on Christmas Day. That's when she wouldn't expect anything and it would ruin everything for her on her special day. A small chuckle escaped her lips as she thought about all the havoc at making her cry when she sees her Christmas Tree and gifts burn to the ground. Merry Christmas Princess!

She was wide awake, and ready to try and plan some havoc and chaos. This would keep her goons from being so cheerful and it would be a way to make her arch enemy suffer. This was just what she needed to make her forget about that horrible dream. It would also be the last time she ate cold Chinese for a while. That explained it. Every time she ate leftovers, she always didn't sleep well. But if that was the reason, how come a part of her still didn't feel safe and calm? In fact, her hand was still shaking a little bit.

She made herself forget about that. It was a dumb dream, and it meant nothing to her. Besides, the first ghost was supposed to be here in the morning and she didn't see any floating ghost or someone in a bed sheet. That proved it was nothing more than a dream. Nothing more than –

"WHAT THE HELL?" Shego screamed as she saw her hover car.

The hover car that she had parked in the docking bay was now covered in snow, along with most of the docking bay itself. How did that happen? She knew it snowed up here, but she could have sworn that she closed the damn door! She glanced to the back of the hanger, and saw that the door was open, but how? As her anger began to boil over again, she slammed her fist against the hatch button to make the door close. A lot of good that would do now. She was turning to leave when she heard stop. She looked again, she saw the door had stuck, and began to open again. Something was jamming the thing.

With one loud scream, she headed toward the front door. She would have to take the elevator to the ground floor and take a cab to another hover car she had hidden. The only problem was that it was hidden at the docks and she was in the middle of Manhattan. Where the hell was Peter Parker when you needed a ride? The first thing she would do when she got to work was raise hell with the Jack Hench. No one gave her shoddy equipment and got away with it.

* * *

Thankfully, the elevator was empty as she waited for it to stop at the ground floor. She was still pissed, and having to wait on the elevator was only making it worse. Especially when the music that was being played was lounge version of The Beatles song Help. Next time she robbed a bank, she would have to take enough to buy this place and make sure she fired the manager; leave him flat broke, and spend the rest of his life on the street. Anyone who allowed horrible music like this deserved to be shot in the kneecaps.

As soon as the door opened, she walked through the lobby as fast as she could and ignored the looks of all the people that were there. She would have flared up and threatened to burn their eyes out if they kept gawking, but she didn't have the time for it. She just wanted to get to her hover car, and be up in the air as soon as possible.

"**YO, CAB!"** she shouted as soon as she walked into the teeth chattering could outside, raising her hand to wave down one of the drivers.

She saw one across and down the street pull out of park and head towards her. At least it meant she wouldn't have to wait long. The cab was halfway to her when an older, and dirtier one, sped to a stop right in front of her.

"Damn, that was fast." She said to herself.

"You hailed a cab or what?" the man asked her with an obvious New Jersey accent. With a small shrug, she entered the cab as fast as she could and situated herself in the seat.

"Get me to the harbor. Fast!" she told him, and had to brace herself as she felt the cab gun itself from its parking space and onto the road. "Watch too much NASCAR?" she asked him.

"Nah, I just like to get people here and there quick." He said as he drove.

As Shego got used to the speed of the vehicle, she finally noticed the interior of the car. The whole interior, front seat and back, was decked out in nothing but Christmas decorations. From the tinsel around the windows to the small wreath hanging from the rear view mirror and small fake tree on the dashboard.

"I'm in hell. I just know it." Shego said to herself.

"Not yet, you're not." The driver told her.

"Say what?" she asked him, but then noticed the scenery outside. The road and the buildings were all wrong. "I said the docks, genius! Are you deaf or something?" she asked him.

"Relax, Shelia. I know where I'm going." The driver said, making the pale woman's eyes going wide as her fists balled.

"How do you know my name?" she growled.

"I know a lot of stuff, Shelia." The driver said, his voice changing from a Jersey accent to a proper English accent. That's when he turned to face her, revealing his eyes to be a pale ice blue with almost platinum blond hair, and his complexion was absolutely flawless. "You see, I'm the ghost you were expecting." He told her, making the villainess gasp as fear began to rise in her again.

Shego reached for the handles, but found there weren't any I the car. Not to mention the locks on the door was gone as well. She ignited her hands and threw a flaming emerald fireball at the pane of glass that separated her from the driver, but found that her plasma had no effect on it at all!

"What the hell are you going to do with me?" she asked him.

"Just trying to help you, Miss Go. I hope you're ready for a trip down memory lane." The ghost said as the cab seemed to drive faster and faster. The world outside the car became nothing more than a blur as their speed increased. Her heart was pounding and her pulse raced as she saw the world around her change and warp into something from a Van Gogh painting. Before she could try and ask anything about where they were, they were all engulfed in a bright white light.

* * *

"Open your eyes, Shelia." The voice said to her, sounding warmer and comforting.

Shego slowly opened one eyes, and then the other. Both widened to the size of saucers as she saw where she was. They were standing outside of the Go City Elementary School. She rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things, but there it was! Covered in the white powder of snow, standing like it was brand new. The last time she saw the school, it was larger and had numerous tags on its walls. But here it was, looking like it did when she was – when she was a little girl.

"Don't tell me you're the ghost of," Shego didn't get to finish her sentence as she saw the cab driver. He stood before her with his hair combed back, wearing a brown derby on the top of his head. He was wearing a gray overcoat, almost blue, with a well made black suit underneath. "Who's your tailor? Bing Crosby?" she asked him.

"I thought it suited the time of year." The ghost said to her.

"Let me take a wild guess, Bing. You're the ghost of Christmas past and brought me here to show how I was before I became a real bitch. Am I right?" Shego asked him.

"Right on the nose." The ghost answered her.

"Listen pal, I can tell you now that it isn't going to work. This memory stuff might work for old misers and Bill Murray, but not for me." She told him.

"If you say so. But when Alexander the Great saw his mother again, he started to imitate Niagara Falls." The ghost said as he started walking toward the play area of the school.

"Well that ain't me buster. So how about doing us all a favor and putting me back in my apartment while you go star in a sappy Christmas Special?" she said as she followed him.

"Sorry, Shelia. But it isn't that easy." He told her.

"Would you please not call me that? My name is Shego!" she told him.

"Not here it isn't." he said as he pointed his thumb to the busy playground.

Shego looked, and her eyes couldn't believe what she was seeing. Déjà vu wouldn't have been a suitable word for the feelings she felt right then. It was everyone she had gone to school, and they were young! Kids again! She tried to speak, but she couldn't. Especially when she saw two older boys walk by. One was obsessing about his popularity while the other was trying to sneak a few pages at his comic book.

"I take it that you know those two?" the ghost asked her.

"More than I like to admit. Those are my brothers, Henry and Melvin." Shego said like she was talking about an embarrassing rash.

"I'm guessing from the tone of your voice that they're not your favorite siblings." The ghost said as he sat on a near by bench that was put in for the teachers.

"No shit, Sherlock. Mego is so obssesed with himself, I'm surprised he hasn't tried to marry himself yet. And Hego's head is completely lost in those stupid comic books. Not to mention he was a fanatic with that campy ass Fearless Ferret show with Timothy North. And they say television doesn't screw up the minds of children." Shego said.

"Have they always been like that?" the ghost asked.

"Like what?"

"A thorn in your backside?"

"No, they're a pain in my ass. All they do is constantly get on my nerves. They help everyone else because of the fame, but they'd never help me or the twins." Shego said.

"Really?"

"What's with the twenty questions, Casper? I just told you they wouldn't! God! Give me a phone; I'm calling the Ghost Busters on your ass." Shego said out of frustration.

"Sorry, Shelia. No one can see or hear us. This is like a rerun of an old television show. Besides, they did help out that one little girl out of the goodness of their hearts." The ghost said to Shego.

"Who?" Shego asked him, not remembering her brothers ever doing such a thing before in her life.

"That little girl over there." The ghost said as he pointed to a little girl with black hair, sitting in a tree with her nose stuck in a book.

The book was hiding the child's face, but she looked to be no older than six or seven years old. She wore a pair of black jeans that were close to getting holes in the knees, and what looked to be a Voltron sweater. Shego didn't recognize her. As far as she knew, she was the only kid in Elementary School that even owned clothes that had Voltron on them. That's when it hit her like a Mack truck hitting a squirrel on the highway.

"That's me?" she asked the ghost.

"Sure enough." He said with a smile.

"I don't remember being that little." Shego said as she cocked her head to one side as she watched the little girl.

"She's got her nose buried in Treasure Island. I wonder why she's sitting in the tree.

"Because I loved heights. Now I remember, I climbed that thing because I could see the whole playground. Not to mention the shade was great during the spring. I felt like the Child-Like Empress in her Ivory Tower every time I sat in that thing." Shego said as those long lost memories began to return.

"But how come you're sitting in a tree?" the ghost asked her as Shego sat on the bench.

"I was treated like a little adult by my parents, so I was different from everyone else. And around this time, if kids thought you were weird then they stayed away from you like the plauge." she told him. That's when she closed her eyes for a second and slapped herself in the forehead. "Nice try." She said.

"try? Trying what?"

"You're making me remember my past and open up so I can fall for this whole Christmas Carol thing." She said to him.

"I'm not trying anything, I'm just trying to make conversation." The ghost said to her.

Shego gave the ghost a small glare as the bell began to ring and echo across the playground, signaling the end of the school day. The kids immediately dropped what they were doing, grabbed their stuff, and ran for the waiting cars and buses. Shego just chuckled a little as she saw familiar faces that she hadn't seen in years run past. One face was a kid named Anthony. Everyone used to make fun of him because he had seizures so much. She let out a deep sigh as she remembered him.

"Something on your mind?" the ghost asked her.

"Just that little boy. His name's Anthony Sloan. He was one of the few friends I had." She told him.

"He seems like a nice boy."

"Don't judge a book by its cover. In Elementary and Middle School, he acted like an asshole." She told spirit beside her.

"Really? Wonder why?" the ghost asked out loud.

"Everyone teased him because of his seizures. He had a tumor in his brain that the doctors couldn't remove, and it was the cause for them. Instead of being supportive, a bunch of the kids royally teased him about it. So he became a jerk as a way to make them stop." Shego said.

"Did it work?"

"Of course not. Instead, they beat him up because of it. I liked him because he had a brain, like me." Shego said as her voice became softer and she drew in a deep breath to steady herself.

"What does he do now?" the ghost asked.

"Nothing. In college, he became a teacher's aid and really mellowed out. But he had a seizure so bad that it literally knocked him off of his feet. He cracked his head open on the stairs real bad, but it knocked the tumor loose enough for doctors to operate. He died of a massive seizure on Thanksgiving, two months before his surgery." She said as she bit her lower lip. That was the third time she had lost someone close to her.

"I'm sorry." The ghost said to her.

"It's okay. Now what were you saying about my brothers helping me? I don't remember them doing that." Shego said, wanting to change the subject.

"Just watch." The ghost said as he turned his attention to the little girl that jumped out of the tree and landed on her feet.

She took her time as she walked to wall where everyone had kept their backpacks. She put her book into the bright green and black pack and slung it over her shoulder, making sure it didn't catch her hair that had been tied back into a ponytail. She began to jog across the ice, hoping to catch some of her friends before they left. Shego smiled as she watched her younger self run. It had been so long since she had just been happy because of something so simple like getting to go home after school. Shego's eyes caught something along the path the girl was tacking, and she gasped when she recognized it. It was a patch of ice that had formed over the slab, but not enough for it to be recognized easily. What was worse, the little girl was heading straight toward it.

"WATCH OUT!" Shego screamed, but it was no use. Shego winced when she saw the girl place her foor onto it, and saw it slip out from under her. The girl's feet lost their balance and she landed hard on her butt. Hard enough to where she had bitten her tongue and drew blood. Shego felt like her heart was being torn out as she saw the girl begin to cry from the pain in both her lower back and from her mouth. She could see the small trail of crimson running down the girl's chin as her sobs began to echo across the blacktop. The only response the girl received was a fifth grader looking at her as he walked to his parent's car, and begin to laugh at her.

"What's wrong, baby? Lose your bottle?" the boy asked as he laughed at her even more, become the girl's cries to become louder and even more heart breaking.

"You little bastard, I should fry your ass right now!" Shego said as she began to stand up with her hands ablaze. The only reason she stopped was because the ghost had grabbed hold of her arm before she could do anything.

"You can't do anything, Shelia. These events have already happened and can not be changed. Besides, just watch." The spirit said as Shego looked back to the little girl.

The boy was still laughing his ass off as the younger Shego sat in pain as she cried her eyes out. Shego was getting upset by watching the display in front of her when she saw a tall, lanky boy jump up from behind the fifth grader and wrap his arms around the fifth grader's neck in a head lock. She watched the two struggle for a little bit, one trying to over power the other. The fifth grader was able to shift his weight and plant an elbow firmly into the lanky boy's ribs, making him release his headlock and fall to his knees in pain. As the fifth grader stood, a taller boy ran up to him, and clothes lined him hard with his fore arm. That's when both of the boys pulled the fifth grader to his feet and each gave him a death glare.

"If you ever make fun of our little sister again, we're going to hang your underwear from the flagpole while you're wearing it!" the lanky one said to the fifth grader.

"You can't do that!" the fifth grader said.

"He can't, but I can! And I'll do worse! NOW GET LOST!" the older boy said and threw the fifth grader to the ground. As soon as the fifth grader ran off, the two boys walked to the crying little girl and knelt beside her to see if she was okay. "Hey Sheki. Are you okay?" the older boy, Henry, asked her.

"My tongue hurts." The young Shego said as Henry used his shirt to wipe the blood from her chin.

"It'll be okay. How about we take you home and give that tongue some ice cream to make it better?" the lanky boy, Melvin, asked the little girl.

"Okay." The little girl said as she wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater.

Shego just stood there, completely dumb founded at what she had just seen before her. Her older brothers Hego and Mego were helping her? This didn't make any sense at all! When the hell did this happen?

"Wouldn't ever help you?" the ghost asked Shego as they watched Hego carry the little girl down the street to their home.

"I don't remember this. Why the hell don't I remember something like this?" Shego asked, completely confused.

"You know the answer to that as well as I do, Shelia. Sometimes, we obsess over the bad memories so much that they block out the good ones." The ghost told her.

"Is this over yet?" Shego asked him.

"No, it's just starting." The ghost said to her as he removed his hat.

"I was afraid of that." Shego said as a bright light engulfed them again.

* * *

When Shego opened her eyes, her heart was in her throat. This time, she was in the living room of her parent's house! She hadn't seen it in years. It was just the way she remembered it as well. From her dad's ugly worn out recliner to the fireplace that used to sit in the living room. What also made it creepy was that it was fully decorated for Christmas. Near the windows was a large Christmas decorated in silver and gold decorations with a star sitting on the top. Under it were many presents of different sizes and colors and shapes. It was almost like someone had bought half of a store and placed it under there tree.

The house itself had multi colored tensile all over the door frames and walls, various Christmas decorations and Santa Claus statues. A nativity scene sat on the bookcase and mistletoe hung over the entrance to the living room.

"I don't believe this. This can't be real." Shego said.

"It is, Shelia. Your family home as it was, years ago." The spirit said.

"Before the comet hit." Shego whispered. "Why did you bring me here?" she asked him.

"To show you that you didn't always hate Christmas. See?" the ghost asked as he waved his hand to the living room entrance.

This time, Shego saw herself at age twelve. She was sneaking into the living room and began feeling the carefully wrapped gifts one by one. With each gift that had her name, she carefully examined it and sometimes shook it to see what it might be. You couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm.

"Still trying to find out secrets at that age?" the spirit teased.

"Oh, please! Every kid tries to find out what they're getting before Christmas Day. Of course I tried to find out what they were. Mom and Dad hid them so well that this was the only chance I would get." Shego said as she felt proud of how her skills developed at such a young age. Trying to find a way to take something without leaving any clues was her specialty. And that's what her younger self was trying to do now. But if Shego's memory served right, this didn't work for one reason.

"Shelia!" a firm, but gentle voice said to her.

"Mom!" Shego said as she got a good look at the woman who stood in the door way.

"Hi, mom." Young Shego said, trying to look innocent. "What are you doing up?"

"I was setting out milk and cookies for St. Nick. What were you doing?" the woman asked as she sat in her husband's recliner.

"I – I was just trying to – I was ,"

"You were trying to peek at your gifts again, weren't you?" the woman asked. The young child only lowered her head in shame. "Shelia, you know you're not supposed to do that." The older woman said.

"But I hate having to wait so long!" young Shego whined.

"Honey, tomorrow is Christmas morning. You don't have that much longer to wait." The woman said with a small chuckle.

"But I want to open them now!" the little girl said as she sat on the floor and pouted.

"How about this? If you go to bed now, I won't make you eat the turkey tomorrow?" her mom asked her.

"How about no turkey and the biggest slice of chocolate pie?" the little girl asked.

"How about pecan instead?" her mother asked her.

"I guess that might work." The little girl said, looking smug.

"Get to bed before your dad wakes up." Her mother said as she gave the young Shego a warm hug and a kiss on the forehead. She then gave the small child a gingerbread cookie and sent her off. As soon as young Shego was gone, the older woman walked to a near by closet and began removing more gifts that weren't wrapped. "Looks like Santa's going to have another long night." She said as she rubbed her temple.

"Mom? You were the one who set all that out?" she asked as she watched her mother get to work, making it look like a jolly old fat man had visited.

"I thought you knew that your parents were Santa Clause." The spirit said to her.

"I found out when I was fourteen." She said as she knelt by her mother and watched her.

"Fourteen?" the spirit asked, actually surprised by her answer.

"My parents were good actors. But I always thought dad set everything up. Even when," Shego stopped when she took another look at her mother, and saw her rubbing her chest gingerly. Shego just shook her head as her eyes started to water at the sight.

"You mean when she was ill?" the ghost asked her.

"Yeah. It wasn't long after this that they found out she had breast cancer, and then the comet hit me and my brothers. They removed her breast and gave her that radiation crap. A lot of good it did. She lost her hair, and got so thin that we could see her ribs. She went through all that, and the whole comet incident, and still did her best to act like there was nothing wrong with her." Shego said as a few more tears began to fall. "Her last Christmas Eve with us was when I was fourteen. That's when I found out Santa Clause wasn't real. That night I got up to see what he had left us, and I found an ambulance taking my mother to the hospital instead." Shego said as she lost control of her feelings as she watched her mother hard at work on the gifts.

"Yet you still celebrated Christmas after that." He told her.

"She didn't die until January, and this was always her favorite time of the year. Without mom, everyone started falling apart. Especially the twins. With these damn powers and no mom to comfort them,"

"You became the new matriarch of your family." The spirit finished.

"Someone had to. You saw Hego and Mego. And after mom died, dad lost himself in a stupid bottle. I still wonder if he ever noticed we had left when we formed Team Go." Shego said, still watching her mother and tried her best to wipe away the tears that wouldn't stop. "Happy now?" she asked the ghost, noticing he kept looking at her.

"There's nothing wrong with crying." He told her.

"Except that it shows how weak I am." She said.

"No it doesn't. It shows you that you still care. That you still truly miss those that are no longer with us. Instead of weakness, compassion and caring shows more strength than some people will ever know." He told her, trying to ease her pain.

"Can we go now? I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to see anything else." Shego said, tired of all these memories and these emotions.

"There's one more Christmas we have to see." The spirit said as he reached for his hat.

"Please, no." she begged as a white light engulfed them again.

* * *

She would never admit it to anyone. She was feared and respected, and she never showed any sign of weakness. But that didn't matter right now. She was scared to open her eyes again, scared to see what was coming next. Because there was that one memory, that one thing she still didn't want to see.

"Open your eyes, Shelia." The spirit gently said.

"I'm scared to." She said.

"The sooner you open your eyes, the sooner our journey will end." The spirit said to her.

She slowly opened her eyes, wiping away the lingering tears that had remained, and let her eyes focus. "Please God, no. Not this one." She begged as she saw the sight before her.

This Shego was now a teenager; a senior in High School to be specific. She was in her bedroom at the Go Tower, wearing an earlier version of her jumpsuit. It was a green and black top with no sleeves, and showing her midriff. One black glove and one green glove were on her hands, with black pants that had a green stripe going down both legs, with a pair of green boots with a dagger attached to the left boot. The teenage Shego seemed to be anxious as she stood in her room, waiting for someone as she looked out the window and watched the snow fall outside.

"Do you remember this moment?" the spirit asked.

"Yes." Shego said as her heart began to tighten knowing who her younger version was waiting for. "This was the one memory I didn't want to see." She said as she heard footsteps in the hall outside.

The door slid open and a young man that was her age walked in. He was a littler taller than her with shaggy dark brown hair that went to his shoulder, a few freckles were on his face that accented his chocolate brown eyes. A few chunks of snow fell off of him as he took off his black leather jacket.

"Do you know him?" the spirit asked.

"Yes. His name is John, my boyfriend. My – my only friend." She said as she watched the two school sweethearts embrace each other in a loving hug before kissing each other.

"Merry Christmas, Shego." He said to her.

"Merry Christmas to you, goofball." She said as they separated from each other.

"He sounds familiar." The older Shego said as she looked at her old love interest.

"I thought you said he was your boyfriend." The ghost said.

"He is, but I mean he reminds me of somebody else. Someone I know." Shego said as she tried to remember who it was her lover reminded her of.

"Why did you call me up here? You sounded like it was urgent." He told her.

"It is." Shego said as she went into her closet and pulled out a wrapped gift. She quickly tossed it to him as a smile crept on her face.

"A gift? That's what this is about?" he asked her.

"Not any gift. Open it up!" she said to him.

The young man tore off the wrapping paper as the younger Shego seemed to hold her breath. He opened the box that had been wrapped and pulled out a black leather case. He opened the case and saw that it was stainless steel knife with a neon green handle.

"A knife?" he asked her, a little puzzled by the gift.

"It's a diver's knife. You told me the one you had was stolen, so I bought you a new one. I thought it would be useful for these." She said as she handed him two large pieces of paper. The young man took them from his girlfriend's hands and looked at the writing. His jaw almost became unhinged when he saw what they were.

"Two first class tickets to Jamaica?" he asked her, stunned by the gift.

"I cashed in a few favors. They've got a great spa there, and I figured we could check it out after we go scuba diving. Then maybe some dancing, a little romance, and who knows what else?" she asked seductively as she threw her arms around his neck.

"Shego, I – I don't know what to say." He said as he hugged her in return, but still looked troubled.

"Baby, what's wrong?" she asked him.

"I got you something, but – it's nothing like this." He said to her as he looked downward.

"I'm sure I'll like it. It's from you isn't it?" she asked him.

The boy reached into his back pocket of his black jeans and pulled out a flat velvet box. Shego took it from him and opened it to reveal a broach that had a black stone in it.

"It's supposed to be the same kind of rock they put in mood rings. I saw it in a pawn shop and thought it would look good on you." He said.

"It's beautiful. Thank you!" she said as she hugged him again as she held onto the broach tightly.

The older Shego had slowly been stroking the broach on the neck of her jumpsuit as she watched the sight before her. More tears began to form as she recalled this night. But she was also weeping because of what she knew was coming.

"I don't have a lot of money, but I promise you that I'll get you something better." He told her.

"You don't have to." The younger Shego said as they continued to hold each other.

"But I want to. Someday, I'll give you the world." He said to her.

"Please, don't do it." Shego said to the ghost beside her, knowing what he was about to do.

"We have to." He said as there was another flash of white light.

* * *

When it faded, they were in a lab looked like it had been in the middle of a war zone. In the middle of the lab was the same young Shego with her hands lit, fighting a man wearing a mask that covered the upper half of his face while he wore enhanced battle armor in order to fight Shego.

"This was low! Even for you!" young Shego shouted to the mad man as she hurled several energy blasts at the man.

The mad man raised a force field and deflected the blasts like they were spitballs. "It's no use, Shego. I've studied everything about you and I've learned from our previous encounters. You will not defeat me again." The man said as two glowing energy blades extended from both of his gauntlets.

"But on Christmas Day? I was fixing to go on a date you asshole!" Shego said as she dodged each swipe he made at her with his glowing blades. The old Shego knew what the younger one was trying to do, and she was silently begging the young woman not to do it.

"You can't always get what you want, Shego!" the mad man shouted as he backed her into a corner as a grin formed on his face. "Any last words, brave hero?" he asked her as he made another strike at her.

Shego quickly ducked and rolled out of the way. The blade singed a few strands of her black hair and cut into the main power cables. Sparks started to fly as the mad man realized what he had done.

"How about screw you?" she asked as she ducked behind a computer console as the ruptured cables exploded, sending the mad man flying and crashing against the wall.

The combination of the explosion and impact against the wall shorted out his battle suit, and began to violently electrocute him! His screams echoed across the room for what seemed like an eternity. The older Shego covered her ears, not wanting to hear the man's cries as he screamed. Tears were rolling down her face as the screams continued until they finally stopped. The older Shego opened her eyes when the screams stopped, but she slowly began to shake her head as she saw her younger version run to the fallen villain.

"Professor Chaos! Oh my God, I didn't want you to get hurt like this! I was just trying to – what the hell?" Young Shego asked as she saw the villains mask had come loose. When she removed the mask, her face became a ghostly white as she let out a heart aching scream of "**NO!**"

She cradled the fallen villain in her arms as she parted his hair out of his face. There were a few burns here and there, and his breathing was labored, but it was non other than her boyfriend John.

"Shego – I-I'm sorry." John breathed.

"John, why didn't you tell me?" young Shego asked as she started to cry.

"D-didn't want you to – to hate me." He said to her.

"But why?" she asked him.

"I didn't – didn't plan on this. I became friends with you to – to understand you more. B-but I – I feel in love with you. I wanted to gi- give you the world." He told her.

"For me? You were doing this for me?" she asked him.

"Yes. I love you so much, and I – wanted you to give you everything you d-deserved." He told her as he rubbed her cheek. "I-I love you s-so much." He said as she held his hand to her cheek.

"I'm sorry." She said to him as both young and older Shego were crying uncontrollably.

"It's okay. I know you didn't mean for – for me to get h-hurt." He said to her.

His breath began to quicken, like he was hyperventilating. His limbs stiffened briefly before he slowly let out a deep breath, and fell limp. The young Shego held onto him tightly as she cried into his hair, not wanting to believe what had just happened. As she gently laid his body down, she noticed he had clipped the knife she bought him to his belt. She removed the belt and looked at it. She looked down at the small knife attached to her boot, and then ripped it off from it's resting place. She then gently place the knife where hers once sat before she slowly stroked her lover's face.

"I love you John. I love you. I'll be a good villain for you, John. I'll be a better villain. And I'll give the world to you." The younger Shego said.

"Stop it! STOP IT! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE, JUST STOP IT!" the older Shego screamed as she fell onto her knees, unable to take the pain she had to relive in front of her. She was so upset and lost in her crying that she didn't notice the bright light again.

* * *

The only time she noticed anything was when she started coughing from crying so much and so hard. When she tried to regain her breath, she noticed that she was back in her apartment in New York again. Her fire was going, and it looked just like it had before she had left. She got up and looked at a near by clock, and saw it had only been an hour. All that in only an hour? But did she really live that? Did it really happen or was it just a dream? She took a seat on her couch as she tried to think.

As she did, she noticed she was stroking the broach on her jumpsuit. The same one John had given her. She looked down at her boot, and saw the knife was still there. The same one she had decided to wear since that day. The only time she had to use it was to cut through wires and jungle growth, but never to kill. That was the one thing she swore not to do. Before and after that day. As she looked at the knife, she felt her heart break open again. She laid herself down onto the couch, holding herself as she did so, and let her pain out as she began to weep at seeing her loose the love of her life all over again.

**

* * *

Author's Note:** With Shego and her boyfried; it was inspired by a picture I saw on Deviant Art. I can't find it right now since so many people have posted more pictures of thegreen villainess, but it had an explination to why Shego became a villain. It was the main insperation for this story. That and the movie Scrooged. I'll have the last two chapters up as soon as I can. 


	3. The Present

One more chapter to go with this one. I am working on the stories I've mentuioned, as well as others I've lready posted. But with the Christmas season, it might take longer than expected. I'm sorry for these delays. But for now, I hope you enjoy this latest chapter. And thank you to everyone who read and to reviewed.

* * *

CHRISTMAS

MIRACLE

By FAH3

What time was it? Shego felt so crummy that didn't even remember where she was for a minute. When she saw the fire place and the fire still going strong, she remembered where she was. She was in her penthouse apartment in New York City. She had cried herself to sleep after her little incident with that Bing Crosby knock off. She had done her best not to bring so many bad memories up, and they had been practically thrown back into her face.

She admitted it, she didn't always hate Christmas. For the longest time, she absolutely loved it. But ever since John died in her arms, she just couldn't see face it. Not anymore. With a deep breath to help wake her senses back up, she stood and stretched every muscle in her body. Maybe she needed a drink. No, not the way she felt. The only thing booze would do would bring back more of those memories for her. And right now, she was all out of tears to shed. Maybe some orange juice instead. Maybe with some – no! No vodka.

With that thought in her head, she dragged herself back into the well stocked kitchen. She found the gallon of orange juice, ripped the cap off, and proceeded to chug as much of the citrus juice as she could in one gulp. She let out the deep breath as she slammed the jug on the counter and felt her body cool as the cold liquid traveled down her throat.

"I really do miss you John." Shego said to herself as she put the jug back in the fridge. What time was it?

Shego walked back into the living room and took a look at the clock that was sitting on the fireplace mantle. Her eyes almost bugged out of her skull when she saw it only a few seconds until noon. The second ghost would be here soon. Maybe there was some way for her to hide? The roof? No, that was a bad idea. She would probably freak when she saw the ghost and fall off the roof. The elevator? No, then she wouldn't be able to run away at all. Crap! If Drakken wasn't already dead, she'd shove his lab coat so far down his throat that she would have to remove his shoes to ring his neck for this! Maybe she could –

"Ho! Ho! Ho!" a voice said loudly behind her, making her raise a very questioning eyebrow.

"You have so got to be shitting me." Shego said as she turned around, and saw something that truly made her question her sanity.

There was a large tree, decorated like it was the vision of the perfect Christmas tree that you saw in all the Holiday books, cards, and movies. Holly was hanging on the wall, along with a huge green wreath over her fire place. All over the ground, there were dozens of colorfully wrapped presents of every shape and size all over her floor. And in a Bronze chair with velvet red cushions sat a man with a long silvery white beard, wearing a burgundy overcoat with soft brown trim that seemed to have come from the fur of a brown bear. A Santa hat of burgundy and soft brown trim sat firmly on his head with an aged sack next to him, filled with more packages.

"Who the hell are you supposed to be? A Holiday Grizzly Adams?" Shego asked the man as he looked at her.

"I'm the ghost, of course. The Ghost of Christmas Present." He said to her.

"I was afraid of that. But I was also referring to the outfit."

"I decided to take on the image of Saint Nicholas." He told her in an aged yet gentle voice that reminded her of her grandfather.

"I thought Santa wore red." She said.

"That image was given to Saint Nicholas by business men. I am the image of what people originally envisioned him as." He told her.

"Oookay." Shego said, thinking that this ghost was a few cards short of a full house. "So what are you going to try and do? Your friend already put me through hell going down the memory lane that was paved with broken glass." She told him.

"It is my mission to show you how others celebrate this season, and that Christmas isn't just about the shopping and gifts." He told her as he stood to his feet.

"What world have _you_ been living in? Sadly, that's what the holidays are all about now." She told him.

"Is that what you really think?" the man asked the woman as his grin never faded.

"Is this going to be like in the movies and the book? You take me around the world to show how everyone is celebrating Christmas and this is somehow supposed to help me?" she asked him.

"Not around the world. Just to a few places." He said to her as he stood.

"Let's just hurry up and get this crap over with. Do I grab your robe or something?" Shego asked him. She really didn't want to do this. The last thing she needed was a bunch of people being all sappy and lovey-dovey. She already felt bad already from seeing one of her worst memories again; she didn't need to be nauseous as well.

"Actually, I thought something else would suffice." The old spirit said as he snapped his fingers, with a bright light surrounding him.

As the light faded, Shego saw they were in her snow filled hanger. The amount of snow in the hanger had doubled, as well inside the ruined hovercraft. However, there was now a new addition to the hanger. It was an old fashioned sled that was being pulled by real living, breathing, reindeer. The sled wasn't a large sled with bright red paint with gold trim, but an old fashioned sled that was only big enough to hold two people. But the reindeer didn't have glowing red noses, and there weren't even eight of them. There were only two normal reindeer that seemed to be as confused as the emerald villainess.

"Aren't you taking this Santa thing a little too far?" she asked the ghost, wondering if she should give him the number to a shrink.

"Which would you prefer, Shelia? A sled that has a blanket for you to keep warm, or to fly like Superman through weather that is currently below freezing?" the old spirit asked her.

"Touché." She said as she slowly, and cautiously, stepped into the old fashioned sled.

It wasn't hard or looked like it was an antique. It had very comfortable cushions, almost like the ones on her couch. The sled itself actually looked like it was brand new. A coat of paint so clean and fresh that she thought she could still smell the faint odor of wet paint. As she took her seat, she noticed it was very strong. Whoever made this took a lot of time and patience in making it. There was a folded flannel blanket next to her if she thought she needed it, as well a large ceramic glass of steaming hot chocolate.

"I have to admit, I am impressed." Shego said to herself as she unfolded the blanket and draped it over her legs.

"I'm glad you like it. They don't really make these like they used to." The spirit said as he took a seat beside Shego and grasped a firm grip on the reigns. "Do you want to give it a try?" the spirit asked her.

"Huh?"

"I know you like to use things that fly, and I was wondering if you wanted to give this a test flight." The spirit said to her, but only earned a look that seriously questioned the ghost's sanity once again. "Suit yourself then." The ghost said as he shook the reigns while making a clicking noise with his mouth.

The reindeer began to pull the sled in a swift gallop, heading for the open hatch. Shego knew this thing was probably going to fly from what the ghost had told her, but that still didn't help her anxiety as the sled was making its way to the open hatch. She gripped the arm of the ghost tightly as the reindeer and sled ran out of the hanger. They began to fall as soon as they left the hanger and Shego could see the ground was coming swiftly to meet them. At the last moment, she closed her eyes tightly and waited for the pain and probably death that were fixing to follow. Instead, she felt the sled level out and a steady cold breeze blow against her face. When she decided to peek, she saw that they were flying through the buildings of New York with ease.

"Sorry. I always love that joke." The spirit said and chuckled.

"You're lucky you're already dead!" she growled as she ignited a fist.

"Careful, Shelia. These guys get spooked easily. You don't want to risk really crashing, do you?" he asked her, which made her extinguish the energy immediately. "Thank you," the spirit said and continued to drive.

"So where are we going?" Shego asked him.

"You'll find out soon enough." The ghost said as they flew.

* * *

Shego had to do her best not to sink her clawed gloved into the metal or loose the orange juice she had drunk earlier as the sled's speed began to increase in mere seconds. What was once normal scenery had now become a tunnel of light passing by them at incredible speeds that weren't eve imagined yet. As her eyes took in the sight that was around her, she began to wonder if this was how Han and the Wookie felt every time they went to light speed. As they continued their journey, only two words were able to escape the emerald rogue's mouth. 

"HOLY CRAP!"

"Oh, my apologies. I usually forget about how fragile the living are." He said as he began to slow their a little.

"Where are we anyway?" Shego asked as she let her eyes try and refocus as things returned to normal.

"Take a look." The ghost said as Shego lurched forward and almost hit her head on the sled as it came to an abrupt stop.

Shego glared daggers at the spirit, getting ready to verbally rip him another one until she noticed where they were. They were no longer outside, but inside. As a matter of fact, it was a hanger. One of the main hanger's in her lair. How the hell did they get here so fast?

"Please don't tell me you're going to show me that stupid Christmas party." Shego whined as the spirit stepped outside of the sled.

"Of course." He said as he stepped out of the sled and grabbed the bag and slung it over his shoulder.

"If you're here to deliver gifts, then shouldn't you be sucking in that gut and crawl through the vents?" she asked him.

"Shelia?" he asked her.

"Fine, I'm coming." She said as she rolled her eyes and exited the vehicle. "If they mess up my hanger, I'm having reindeer tacos for lunch tomorrow!" she said to the ghost as they left the hanger and made their way down the hall.

"Why do you have to show me this stupid party? I already know what's going on here." Shego said.

"Oh really?" he asked, still smiling.

"Yeah. Right now, these idiots are chugging egg nog and spiked punch while listening to stupid Christmas songs. Before the night's over, they're going to be so plastered that by the time I come back to work, they'll think I'm the stripper and I'll have to break my foot off in a few asses. Before I make them clean their mess with their own toothbrushes. Then I'll make them use the toothbrush before they can clean it." Shego said as a sadistic smile formed on her face.

"You really don't get to know your employees, do you?" he asked her as they approached the door to the main command center. Coming through the closed doors, the sound of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons singing Sherry.

"What's the point?" she asked as they entered the lab, and Shego began to look around the room. "Okay, so they're not drunk yet." Shego said.

"They're not drunk because there's no liquor." The ghost said.

"Dead guy said what?" Shego asked him. She knew from their files that a few of these did more than just drink to relax. So it didn't make any sense that the mice weren't playing when the mountain lion was away.

"Shego, many of these people don't have anyone in their life. A few of your men were orphans while others didn't get to feast on life's pleasures. Just the table scraps. For the first time in a very long time, maybe even for the first time for some of them, they feel like they are among family and friends." The ghost said to her as he led her to two henchmen that were standing by themselves.

One had a scowl on his face while he nursed the green punch while the other seemed to look concerned for him.

"You okay, Mark?" he asked the scowling henchman.

"Sure." The man said.

"Come on, I can tell when something's up. You've been more moody than the boss lately. What's up?" he asked him.

"My buddies and I used to go all out for Christmas. Tree, gifts, the whole thing. Even when we all joined the army, we still made a big deal about it." Mark replied.

"I didn't know you were in the army." The other henchman said.

"Yeah. I was in Iraq until I got sent home when a grenade put enough shrapnel in my leg to make a Buick. My buddies told me we'd all get back together on Christmas later on." Mark said as he gulped down the rest of his drink and chunked the paper cup. "Later on, I heard our unit was apart of a convoy that was attacked. None of my buddies lived through it." Mark said as he let out a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, Mark." He said to the man.

"Me too. That was two years ago. Instead of celebrating Christmas with my friends, I get to morn them and wish they were here." The man said as looked up at the make shift tree while Jingle Bell Rock echoed through out the lab.

"Well, you've got some buddies here now. I know it isn't like the ones you were talking about, but maybe this can help." The henchman said as he pulled out a small box that had been wrapped with the Sunday comics with a piece of string acting as a bow.

"You got me a gift?" Mark asked the man.

"Yeah. You helped me get used to this place, and I wanted to say thanks." The henchman said as Mark ripped the paper off of it.

What had been wrapped was a small cardboard box. When Mark opened it, he saw that it was an Iron Man sports watch with a built in stop watch. Mark had one when he first started working for Drakken, but it broke during one of the blue doctor's failed experiments.

"How did you?"

"I asked around. The guys told me you had something like that, but it got busted. I thought it'd be a nice way to saying thanks." The henchman said.

"Thanks, man. I wish I could have at least gotten you a card or something." Mark said.

"It's no problem, man."

"You know, this has already been a better Christmas than the last two. Thanks." Mark said as he gave the henchman a brief hug.

"You see what I mean?" the ghost asked Shego.

"Okay, that was a really nice thing to do. So I was wrong about some of these guys." Shego admitted, feeling a little bad about the henchman named Mark. She never really read a lot of the files on her men, but maybe she should. Guess all the henchman weren't the same just because they were stupid enough to work for her or the other so called super villains.

"Not just that. You said that Christmas was all about receiving gifts. Obviously, the true point of Christmas hasn't been lost." The ghost told her.

"But this is just with these two guys. That doesn't mean it's the same way with anyone else." Shego told him.

"Then I think you're about to be proven wrong again." The ghost said and pointed up to an air vent.

Shego glanced upward and saw the silhouette of someone crawling past the grate and venture further into the air duct.

"That cheerleading brat has the nerve to try and break into _my_ place before I can do anything! That bitch!" Shego shouted as she bolted out of the command room, leaving the ghost behind.

Shego ran down the hall with her hands blazing with the green cosmic energy that flowed through her veins. Her teeth were bared and clenched together as she already mentally prepared herself for a fight. She knew where that duct ended, and she was going to try and beat the intruder to the punch. As she took a sharp turn around another corner she stopped when she saw the person that hopped out of the vent. She was expecting a young woman with flaming red hair. Instead, it was her sidekick with the unruly blonde hair and freckles that had invaded.

"What's Stoppable doing here?" Shego asked, confused at what she was seeing.

Was he trying to do something for the cheerleader as a Christmas gift again? She remembered when he did that one year, and he and Drakken ended up crashing far north, and calling a truce for Christmas because they both loved the Holiday special Snowman Hank. So what was up now? Drakken was dead.

"You got it, buddy?" Ron asked backpack he was wearing.

The flap opened and his naked rodent, Rufus, popped his head out while pulling a large package out of the backpack. It was obvious that the thing was bigger than what he was used to holding, but he still lifted the large gift out and handed it to Ron.

"Thanks, buddy." Ron said as he took the gift into his hands.

Ron proceeded down the hall until he came to a door that had the warning "Knock or prepare to eat pain."

"What's he doing at my room? If that's an explosive, I'll" Shego stopped when she saw him squat and set the girt gently on the ground in front of the door. He stood back up with a smile.

"Merry Christmas, Shego." He said as he walked off and climbed his way into the vent, with his pants not following him. "Aw man! DOES THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN NOW?" Ron shouted into the vent as she saw his arm reach out of the vent and pull his pants in with him.

"Penny for your thoughts?" the ghost asked, spooking her some from his sudden appearance behind her.

"The buffoon, Stoppable. He just left me a Christmas gift." Shego said, wondering why he would do that.

"That was nice of him." The ghost said.

"For all I know, it could be a trap. Or a bomb." She told him.

"Would he do something like that?" the ghost asked her.

"Well – actually no. He wouldn't ever do anything like that." Shego said as she thought about it.

"How do you know that?" he asked her.

"As many times as I've had to spy and fight with him and Kimmie? I know them like they were my – my friends." Shego said as she stopped for a minute. "Does he actually think of me as a friend?" Shego asked like Ron was out of his mind.

"I told you the true spirit of Christmas wasn't gone." The ghost said.

"Let me guess. Peace on Earth and goodwill toward men?" she asked sarcasticly.

"No, Shelia. Peace and Goodwill towards everyone and everything." He told her. "We better hurry, we don't want to be late." The ghost said to her as he started to leave.

"Late? Late for what?" Shego asked him as she followed.

* * *

The sled lurched to a sudden stop again, but Shego had kept an arm on the edge to keep herself from lurching forward again. That still didn't settle the dizziness she felt from the speed they had gone.

"I fly all the time, and I do things that would make stunt men piss their pants. Why the hell am I getting air sick?" Shego asked herself as she slowly exited the sled.

"Have you ever traveled past the speed of light?" he asked her.

"No."

"Then that answers your question." The ghost said simply as climbed out of his sled again.

"Wait a second. This is Stoppable's house. Why are we here?" she asked him.

"To show you." He said to her as he began to walk to the front door of the house.

Shego only shook her head and glanced up and down the street before she started moving. An old force of habit from her being a thief. That was also when she noticed something.

"Does all that speed cause hell with the sled?" she asked the spirit as she made up her way to the door.

"What do you mean?" the ghost asked her.

"I just could have sworn that thing didn't have scratches on it." She said as she looked at the sled, and noticed that it seemed the reindeer had a few pieces of grey in their fur.

"I haven't noticed anything. Come on, we don't want to be late." He said as he stepped through the door. When Shego tried to do the same, she let out a small grunt when her face made contact with hard wood. "Sorry. I keep forgetting." The ghost said as his arm came out of the door, waiting for Shego to grasp it.

"If he says sorry one more time." Shego grumbled as she grasped the ghost's hand and was pulled through the door.

* * *

The home was very clean. Almost too clean for Shego's taste. Out of all the homes she had been in, broken into, or even spied, this one stuck in her craw a little bit. In all of those houses, there was always something off, some thing that had been missed during the cleaning process. The only time she had seen a home as clean as this was when she used to watch those old episodes of Donna Reed when she was younger and stupider. Besides the cleanliness, there were various decorations around the house. Not for Christmas, but for the Jewish holiday of Hanukah. A large, brightly polished silver menorah sat in the center of the table while a large white Christmas tree with blue ornaments, or Hanukah bush, sat in a corner of the living room so it could be seen through the window outside.

In the middle of the room was the Possibles sitting and talking to the Stoppables about various things while Shego's despised enemy Kim Possible sat in the floor and played with Ron's young sister Hanna.

"What are we doing here for?" Shego asked the ghost, feeling very out of place.

"I told you, to show you." He said to her as he watched the people in the room.

"But show me what?" Shego asked the ghost.

Before the merry spirit could answer, the front door opened as Ron stepped into the room and hung his coat while being warmly greeted by everyone.

"I'm back!" Ron said with his trademark goofy grin.

"There you are, Ronald! You had us worried for a little bit." Mr. Dr. Possible said as he stood and gave Ron a warm hug.

"Where have you been anyway?" his mother asked them as they all began to head to the large dinning room table.

"I just had to give a gift to a friend. Sort of a last minute thing." Ron said as he went into the kitchen to help his mom bring out the food they had prepared earlier.

"You'll never change, will you Ron?" Kim asked as she smiled and giggled a little.

"You know it, KP. Procrastination isn't just a thing, it a way of life. I think. Is it?" Ron asked, confusing himself and making the others laugh.

"So which friend was it?" Kim asked him as he and his mother set down all the food for everyone to enjoy.

"Someone we've known for awhile. Nothing big." Ron said.

"Well, this food looks absolutely delightful." Mrs. Possible said as the tweebs tried to sneak their hands to the some of the sides, only for their hands to be slapped away by their mother.

"It should. Ron cooked all of it." Mrs. Stoppable said proudly as she took her seat next to her husband.

"I thought you helped." Mr. Stoppable said.

"Only in the clean up." She said and eyed her son who began to scratch the back of his neck nervously.

"Well, before we start, I'd like to propose a toast. To my son for this wonderful Hanukah meal we are about to take part of, to the Possibles for being Ron's friends for so long and keeping an eye out for him when we couldn't." Mr. Stoppable said.

"And to Shego." Ron said, deciding to get a little bit of courage.

Everyone just seemed to look at him strangely for a minute at his comment. Even Shego herself had to cock an eyebrow at his sudden remark. Did this guy have a thing for her or something?

"Ron, why do you want to toast Shego?" Kim asked him strangely.

"Why not?" he asked her.

"Why do you mean why not? Ron, she's a wanted criminal. Not to mention she's tried to hurt us every time we've fought." Kim said

"This is the way I see it, Kim. If it weren't for her, I'd never would have been able to save you and Drakken from Warmonga and War Hawk and probably wouldn't have saved the planet." Ron said to his life long best friend.

"Is there another reason?" Mrs. Possible asked him.

"Yeah. I think she got handed a raw deal. I mean, I got picked on and beat up because I acted different from everyone else. Look what happened to her. How much you want to bet that she had it far worse than me? Even if she was a hero, kids are cruel. Not to mention her brothers. After hanging around them for only an hour, I was thinking about teaming up with her." Ron said, earning a questioning glance from Kim while Shego looked at him strangely. "Plus, I think that deep down she's a good person. With the whole attitudeinator thing, that only brought out what was already there. So, I bet there's someone down there that I bet we could really get along with." Ron said to his family; both of them.

"Those are some good reasons to me." Mr. Stoppable said.

"Same here." Dr. Possible said as they all raised their glasses.

"To Shego." They all said and drank.

"Always trying to find something good about everything." Kim said to him with a smile as she gave him a warm hug.

"Thanks, Ron." Shego said as a single tear began to roll down her face.

"Are you all right?" the spirit asked her.

"It's just been so long since someone said anything that good about me. I thought John was the last one who saw anything good in me. But," Shego said, stopping in mid-sentence.

"But?" the ghost asked her.

"I don't believe it. Now I know why I've never been able to really hurt him. I could almost swear that he was my John." Shego said as she remembered how John used to act. All the things he would do for her and say. Even though he had turned out to be a villain, he somehow found a way to see the good in so many things. "Treasure every day you've got him, Princess. You'll never know how much you need someone until they're gone anymore." Shego said as she turned and left the dinning room.

The ghost quickly followed, making sure she didn't hit the door again when she exited. Once outside, Shego sat on the edge of the sidewalk as she kept trying to wipe all her tears away. The ghost took a seat next to her as Shego tried to calm herself.

"So what were you trying to show me? That Kim Possible has something that I lost? Something I fucked up years ago?" she asked him.

"No, Shego. What religion is Kim Possible?" the spirit asked her.

"Christian." Shego replied.

"And what of Stoppable?" the spirit asked.

"Wasn't it obvious? He's Jewish. What are you getting at?" she asked him.

"Even thought they worship God in different ways, they can come together and enjoy each other's company and friendship. Even their children's feelings for each other cross those boundaries. Elsewhere, the same is going on. Different races, different religions, everything. They put everything that makes them different aside so that they can enjoy each other's company and friendship. When they do that, they discover that they aren't so different. Peace on Earth and Goodwill are more than just themes and words. Their ideals and dreams." The spirit told her.

"It doesn't make the pain go away." Shego told him.

"But what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger. Come, we have one more Christmas to see." The spirit said as he walked to the sled.

"This time, do you think you can slow down a little?" Shego asked him as she stood up.

* * *

"Of all the places in all the world, why did you have to bring me here?" Shego asked the spirit as they began to lower for a landing in front of Go Tower. This was the last place she wanted to be, even on Christmas and Thanksgiving.

"It won't be that bad." The spirit said as the landed.

Shego rolled her eyes as she exited the sled, but she knew something was different about it. The paint was scratched, and chipped in a few places. In others, there were dents and it looked like the paint had worn off. It was like the sled had aged since they had left Middleton. The reindeer were also looking older. When she first saw them, they looked to be in their prime. Now they were looking tired with most of their fur faded to grey.

"What's going on with this thing?" she asked the ghost.

"What do you mean?" the ghost asked her.

"Don't give me that. This thing was brand new when we started this trek, and now it looks like it's gone three rounds with ED-209. Not to mention your reindeer looks like they're ready to be put out to pasture." She said to him.

"It's all right, Shelia. It's none of your concern." The old spirit said.

"But,"

"Please. Let's continue." The spirit said and made his way to Go Tower's main entrance.

The inside of the Go Tower was just the way it had been since the last time Shego was forced to come here. There were a few Christmas decorations, but not a lot. That's what her brothers got for building a place that a giant could live in. Of all the things to base their base off of, why did it have to be from comic books? Shego just let out an exasperated sigh as they finally came to the main area of Go Tower which was more heavily decked out in Christmas decorations with what was left of a Christmas dinner sitting on the table. Her brothers on the other hand were busy in a some sort of guessing game. They had caught the tail end of the current title, but just in time for Mego to start the round for the next one.

"All right guys, here's the question. What was the instrument Lurch played on the Addams Family?" Mego asked them.

"Hego should know this one since we were the Addams Family. All we needed was the uncle that could make light bulbs glow." Shego said as she watch them guess.

"Do you know the answer?" the spirit asked her.

"Of course! It's an"

"NOPE!" Mego shouted, ending the round. "The answer is Harpsichord." He said, making them all groan.

"I swear, they wouldn't know how to find their own butts with a mirror." Shego said to herself.

"So what all have you guys done today?" Hego asked as he was getting ready for his turn.

"Got a date for tomorrow night. It looks like I might be unwrapping a blonde as my Christmas gift." Mego said smugly.

"Mego! It's Christmas!" Hego said.

"So?" Mego asked in response.

"Typical Mego. You've got those powers to shrink, but it obviously hasn't shrunken your ego." Shego said to him.

"We invited Shego over for our party." One of the Wego's said.

"You did what?" Hego asked them.

"We invited her over."

"We thought she might like seeing us again." The twins said.

"It was you two? I thought Hego sent me that E-Mail." Shego said to herself.

"Guys, I've been trying to get our sis to come here for the Holidays for a while now. I'm beginning to think she may not be interested. Hego said again.

"Of course she doesn't! She knows I'm the popular one and doesn't see the point in even trying to bother to come over." Mego said to them.

"You're lucky I can't fry your hair again you twerp." Shego growled at him as she balled her fist.

"It couldn't hurt. Besides, she's our big sister."

"And no matter what, we're going to keep inviting her. Besides, we miss her." The twins said to their older brothers.

"Thanks guys. You know, I always liked you two the best. Even if you used my bras for sling shots." She told them.

"You don't like your older brothers, but you care for the younger ones?" the spirit asked her.

"The twins were still young when mom passed away. I didn't mean to kind of take over mom's place for them, it just happened that way. Man, I kept thinking I was going to have a heart attack on the first few missions they went on." Shego said.

"Why?"

"They're my baby brothers. They get on my nerves, but I had to look out for them." Shego said to the ghost.

"Do you think your older brothers feel the same way?"

"Hego? That's a maybe. But with Mego? Fuck if I know." Shego said as Hego got ready to start his round.

"All right bro's. What was the name of the ship that took them all to Gilligan's Island?" Hego asked, and saw as the others weren't even coming close to the right answer.

"This is _so_ easy! I thought you guys had some sort of brain!" Shego said, slapping herself in the head from her brother's idiocy.

"Shelia?" the ghost asked her.

"Not now!" she said, waiting for one of them to get it right.

"Shelia?" the ghost asked her again, but more quietly.

"What is it? What the?" Shego asked as she turned, and saw the ghost was crouching over a little. His face looked like it had aged several years in under a minute. His robes were in disarray with moth eaten holes, and it looked like he had grown skinnier since earlier that day. "What's wrong?" she asked him.

"The time for spirit's like me on this Earth is very short. My time is almost over." He said to her as he held his hand out to her.

Now it made sense to her. The condition of the sled and the reindeer, and his memory gaps. He was aging.

"Well, that explains your memory." She said as she took his hand to help him walk.

"No, I just have a really bad memory. What's your name again?" he asked and chuckled at his own joke as they walked back to the sled.

"So what message were you trying to show me this time?" she asked him.

"None. I just wanted to let you see that even your family still cares about you." The spirit said as they phased through the door.

Shego looked up and gasped at the condition of the sled. Now it looked like an old antique. Part of it was rusted with most of the paint now gone, and the cushions were torn with the stuffing peeking out with the color long since faded. She was amazed it was still holding itself together. The reindeer looked like they were barley alive. They were so skinny that you could clearly see their ribs through their fur. The fur that had covered them, once a deep chocolate brown, had now become nothing but faded gray.

"I must get you home before my time is done." The ghost said as he slowly climbed into the sled and eased himself into the seat.

"Are you sure this thing will hold us?" she asked as she sat beside him and saw the once thick quilt had thinned and had several gaping holes in it.

"Don't worry. It'll hold long enough. You don't weigh a lot, do you?" he asked her.

"No."

"Good. Then you won't fall through." He said and chuckled at his own joke as he spurred the deer onward and back into the sky. "I must warn you, though. The next visit will not be pleasant." The ghost said.

"You mean the third ghost?" she asked him.

"Yes. For he is the one that everyone fears the most. The one that men can not predict or control. The future." He said to her.

"What is he going to look like?" she asked the ghost.

"I don't know. Each one he visits, he assumes a different appearance. Be careful, Shelia. For some men run from him screaming." He said to her.

"You're not helping my confidence." She told him as they sped towards New York and back to Shego's apartment.

"Just go forth and know me better, Shelia." The old man chuckled as his breathing became more labored.

Shego was going to ask how he was, but she heard a soft groaning. Something that was straining to stay together, but it was losing. She tried to find its source as the sound grew louder. When she did, her eyes grew wide. The floor board of the sled was starting to weaken and give out. She turned to warn the ghost, but didn't see him anywhere. Panic was filling her again as she felt the entire floorboard give way and felt herself free falling. She was over nothing but ocean, and knew that she didn't have anyway of stopping her fall. The damn fool waited too long! No, she waited. She made him wait because of that game back at Go Tower. Before she could blink, she made contact with the surface of the deep ocean.

* * *

Shego sat up, taking deep breaths as she steadied herself once again. Once more, she was in her New York apartment. Once more, she was on the couch in her living room. Maybe she dreamed her visit with the ghost? With both of them? When she looked into her kitchen, she saw the cap to the orange juice she had drunk earlier was still on the cabinet. She hadn't been dreaming. That meant there was one ghost left.

She remembered the warning of the last ghost. He was the one that everyone feared, and some ran from screaming. That meant this guy wasn't going to be pretty. Would it be the grim reaper himself? God? Or will it be something that would form to her worst fear? She looked at the clock and saw she had only an hour until the sun would set. It looked like the only way she would find out what would happen to her with the next ghost was to sit and wait. She didn't know which one was worse. Being with this last ghost, or waiting for the ghost to show up.


	4. The Future

CHRISTMAS

MIRACLE

By FAH3

She remembered the warning of the last ghost. He was the one that everyone feared, and some ran from screaming. That meant this guy wasn't going to be pretty. Would it be the grim reaper himself? God? Or will it be something that would form to her worst fear? She looked at the clock and saw she had only an hour until the sun would set. It looked like the only way she would find out what would happen to her with the next ghost was to sit and wait. She didn't know which one was worse. Being with this last ghost, or waiting for the ghost to show up.

At least she had the benefit of sleep in between the visits of the first and second ghosts, but fear prevented that luxury from happening. The ghost of Christmas present was right though. The future was something that everyone was scared of. Not knowing what would happen, not even knowing if you would be around the next morning? It would make anyone scared. But the question for her was what would hers be like? Would she be the supreme ruler over everything or would she be someone's bitch in a jail cell? That question just hung in her brain for the longest time.

The minutes seemed to drag by slowly, almost like the passing of an hour was passing by like an entire day. Shego tried so many things to make the time go by faster. She tried reading, but no book would do. She tried watching one of her movies, but found that they just weren't entertaining. Even played the X-Box she had bought a few years ago, but the games didn't even cut it. And if she sharpened her gloves of filed her nail anymore, they'd be able to tear through solid titanium.

Shego glanced at the clock, and still saw she still had too much time on her hands to wait. What was she going to do? As she glanced at her bookcase again, she noticed the one book she had forgotten about. She pulled it free from it spot and took a good long look at it. It was two storied bound into one book that her mother had bought her the year she died. Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol along with the poem The Night Before Christmas. The book she had the evening Drakken had come to her. She needed all the help she could get, so she might as well study up a little bit.

* * *

So far, the story was just as she remembered it. Now she knew why she always liked the movie Scrooged better. The dialog and situations were more realistic. She knew that for it's time, people could relate to it. But everything just seemed so stiff by today's times. She had just finished the chapter about Scrooge meeting the ghost of Christmas Present when she decided to give her eyes a rest. When stopped rubbing them and looked outside the window, she saw that the sun was beginning to set. That meant it was almost time for the last ghost to arrive. She placed a strip of notebook paper in the place she had stopped reading as she closed the book, and took a deep breath.

As she set her book on the coffee table, she stood to the window and watched the sun set. She had forgotten how beautiful it was. She remembered when she was going on and coming home from saving the day she would just watch the sun rise and set. The last time she had ever watched it was when John was still alive. Dear sweet John, how she missed him so much. She kept watching as the sun went lower and lower, with the curtain of night beginning to fall. As soon as the sun was out of sight and the stars filled the night sky, her clock began to chime.

"Show time." She said to herself as each chime seemed to echo like a thunder bolt.

She didn't count the chimes; she didn't even look to see what time it was. With each toll of the bell, her fear began to escalate more and more. What was she going to see? What was she going to expect? If she could reassert the control over her emotions she had before this ordeal, she would do so now to control her fear. But even now, it probably wouldn't do any good.

That's when she heard it. The one sound that frightened her the most right now. Silence. No noise at all. She couldn't hear the clock, the wind outside, or even the normal sounds of New York. It was as if someone had put Mute on the entire world. Her breathing was becoming ragged as she waited for the ghost. These guys had been very punctual so far, so where was this guy? Wait, what was wrong with her breathing? Something was wrong.

Her breathing didn't sound right. There something was wrong with her lungs. She was breathing shallow, but it sounded like an emphysema patient breathing on an oxygen tank. Unless – it wasn't the sound of _her_ breathing. She slowly turned around to see if she could find out what was making that breathing noise. She kept her gaze lowered, not wanting to be surprised or scared at once.

There was fog crawling all over the floor that seemed to grow in thickness as she slowly raised her gaze upward. She noticed the fog wasn't just on the ground, but it was a large fog bank that was blocking the view of half of her living room. In the thick fog, standing tall and in perfect view was the ghost. The figure stood tall, clad in a black vest with black talon gloves on each arm. He wore a pair of slacks that were black as pitch, and held secured by a leather black belt with a silver buckle that was in the form of the Jolly Roger that you saw on the flags of pirate vessels in the movies. Black combat boots were on his feet with the cuffs of the slacks tucked neatly inside them while he wore a black hooded cloak that seemed to be s living interpretation of the night sky outside. Stars and all. The hood was raised and completely hid the ghost's face from view; none of his features were able to be seen as it stood in front of Shego.

"Y-you're the ghost of Christmas Future?" she asked him.

"**I am."** He answered in a deep rumbling voice, sending a cold shiver through Shego's spine.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared. I'm so scared shitless that I'm surprised I'm not pissing myself. I know what you're here to do, and I'm ready." She told him, summing up every bit of courage she had left inside of her.

"**Come with me."** He said and held out an open hand to her.

She was shivering all over, but she slowly stretched out her gloved hand to the specter in front of her, and firmly grasped his hand. Unlike with the last two ghosts, a strong hurricane force wind began to circle them, blowing fog and snow all around them like they were caught in the eye of a massive storm.

"What's happening?" Shego shouted to the ghost.

"**We are traveling through the shadows of what might be."** The ghost said as the wind began to slow to a crawl and the fog and snow faded and settle.

* * *

Shego saw they were back in Stoppable's home. But it was different than usual. It was still unbearably clean, but the warmth that was usually there seemed to be missing. The little girl, Hanna, was playing on the floor with some of her toys, but she didn't seem to be as enthusiastic. Mrs. Stoppable was sitting in on the couch and reading a magazine, but she was also sipping a glass of Merlot. From the data she had gathered on the family during her days with Drakken, there was no evidence that said the woman drank anything stronger than a Cream Soda. What was going on here?

"What happened?" Shego asked the ghost, knowing something was wrong from the word go. The ghost only said nothing. "Don't give that silent bullshit. What happened?" she asked the spirit again, but there was still no answer.

The silent treatment was making Shego madder by the second. Ghost of Christmas Future or not, she was going to deck this guy if he didn't say something. Just as she was balling her fist to deck him, the front door opened as Mr. Stoppable entered. Shego could see there was something wrong with him as well. One thing was known for was having that stupid grin that Ron used so much, and it was missing on all of them. What the hell happened to these people?

"How was work?" Mrs. Stoppable asked her husband as she put down the magazine, but not her drink.

"The same as usual. I'm actually thinking about quitting though." The older man said as he hung up his coat and placed several bags on the coffee table.

"I thought you loved that job." Mrs. Stoppable said, putting down the glass and helping her husband unload the bags. As soon as the smell of nacho cheese and refried beans filled the room, Shego knew what was in the plastic bags. But why were the unloading them in the living room

"It just isn't the same anymore. They're just – just too many numbers." Mr. Stoppable said as he removed a package of nachos and removed the safety covering. "I thought you still might not want to use the kitchen, so I got Bueno Nacho."

"That's fine. You know, today would have been their anniversary." Mrs. Stoppable said as she found a taco salad and took it for herself.

"God, don't tell me." Shego said as theories began to form in her head. Most of them centering around a certain redhead and blonde boy.

"I know. He loved Bueno Nacho so much. Not as much as her but – Why?" the man asked as he began to weep uncontrollably.

"Honey, please." The woman said as she rushed to her husband's side.

"We should have stayed home more, laid some more ground rules. Something." He said as he cried.

"Honey, there was nothing we could do." Mrs. Stoppable said to her husband.

"All right, no more of this being quiet bull. I want to know what the hell happened to Kimmie and Stoppable, and I want to know NOW!" Shego shouted as her hands became engulfed in emerald flames.

The fierce winds returned, blocking out their surroundings as the spirit in front of her took them to another location. Shego squinted hard through the cold snow that flowed through the winds, trying to find any clue to where this nut was taking her now. When the winds dissipated, she saw they were in a familiar place. It was the main auditorium to Hench Co. But unlike the visits to the last places she had been, there wasn't a Christmas party going on or. Instead, it looked like there was some kind of meeting going on. Everyone in the villain community she knew was there, along with a few faces she didn't know. In front of the gathered crowd was a large stage with a podium in the middle. And standing at the podium was none other than Jack Hench himself.

"What the hell is this shit? I wanted to know what happened to Ron and Kim, not with these assholes!" Shego said to the spirit before her. This time, the spirit merely pointed to an empty chair in the aisle. Taking the hint, and figuring she wasn't about to get a reply anytime soon, she sullenly took her seat. "What does this have to do with the Princess anyway?" she asked herself as the chatter began to quiet.

"Thank you all for joining this occasion today." Hench started, still looking like a sleazy car salesman. "As you know, because of certain events, many fabulous little gadgets are up for auction today. We all knew of the horde this person has had for some time now. So let's see who's willing to dish out the most to get it." Hench said as two of his men brought a box to him.

Hench took the box from the men, set it on the podium, and opened it to see what was inside.

"Now, before we get to the good stuff, we have to auction off a few of the smaller items. So the first item up for bid is this lovely broach." Hench said, holding up the item. Shego couldn't make out what it looked like from her seat, since she was in the nose bleed section. Still, she just sat and stewed in her anger. She hated it when people played games with her. And it just included the dead.

"I still don't see the point in all this." She said to the ghost, who only pointed toward Hench. He had just sold the broach when he pulled out another item.

"The next item on the list is this lovely knife. It's top quality and has hardly ever been used. It still retains an edge that can almost match that of a samurai sword and its serrated edge can inflict some pretty harmful wounds. Bidding starts at two-hundred." Hench said as he held the item up.

"I'll bid three-hundred for it." One said with a very thick Scottish accent.

"Duff? Why the hell would he need a knife. Wait, why do I care?" Shego asked herself.

"I bid four-hundred!" DNAmy said while holding a sign in the shape of an otter fly.

"Four-fifty!" Dementor shouted.

"All this for a stinking knife? What the hell?" Shego asked as her opinion of her fellow villains just went down several hundred points.

"Four-fifty going once! Going Twice!"

"Twelve-hundred and fifty." One lone voice spoke up while raising their hand.

"Nice going, dip shit. I hope you like being screwed over." Shego said to the figure as it made its way to the podium. They wore a hooded sweatshirt to hide their features, somewhat to what Shego's spiritual guide was doing. Shego was ready to look bored again when she noticed something about the person who had just purchased the knife. A lock of hair was hanging from out of the hood. But what made Shego pay attention was that it was a lock of flaming red hair! "Kim? Kim, is that you?" Shego asked the figure, but the figure just kept walking. She had forgotten that no one could see or hear them. All she could do was watch the figure leave while Hench continued to auction off other items.

"Okay, I tried demanding and that hasn't worked. So now, I'll just ask nicely. Please, what's happened to Kim and Ron? What made Stoppable's family act like that?" Shego asked the ghost.

* * *

The winds once against surrounded them. Eclipsing their sight and making the cold form a cocoon of fog around them. After the winds stopped, Shego knew where they were. It was the Middleton cemetery. Dark gray clouds had formed overhead and blocked the rays of the sun from shinning down upon the final resting place for so many people. The bad feeling that gnawed at Shego began to grow even worse when she saw their location. After browsing around the peaceful area, she saw the figure who had bought the knife at the auction.

Shego followed the figure as they walked along the dirt path that went through row after row of various plots and headstones. She didn't have to worry about stealth since the lone figure couldn't hear her even if Shego tried. The gnawing feeling in the villainess' gut still ate at her more and more with every step this figure took. After what seemed like hours of walking, the figure finally stopped and kneeled before a large marble headstone.

Shego wanted to see what the headstone read, but she was scared to. She knew that no matter what had been carved into that chunk of rock in front of her and this stranger, she wasn't going to like it. For the moment, she kept her sight glued to the person she had been following. She was biting her lip when she saw the person reach for the hood that covered their head, and held her breath as they pushed the hood off. When she saw the mane of red hair that flowed free, it didn't take much for her to put two and two together.

"God, not him. Please God, not him. He didn't deserve to die." Shego said as she looked at the headstone. Below a carving of the Star of David was Ron's name, his birth date, and death date. "No. He was too good for this." Shego said as she sank to her knees as more tears began to flow.

"**Why do you shed tears for him?"** the ghost asked her, breaking its silence.

"Because I actually liked him, okay? He was too goofy for his own good, but he was a nice guy. He – he might have been my friend if I let him." Shego said to the ghost. "Please tell me I can change this. Please." Shego said, but only saw the ghost point directly at Kim.

"Hi Ron. I hope everything here is the way you like it. You know, it's just not the same without you here. It's like a big part of Middleton died with you. A part that can't heal or be replaced." Kim said to him and pulled out the knife she had bought. Shego's throat began to tighten as she saw the neon green handle and sheath. "I got this today. I know its weird, but it's the only thing that keeps reminding me of what we used to do. Of what we once had. Ron, I love you. And I can't stand this feeling I have." Kim said and pulled the knife free.

"Kimmie, don't do it." Shego said as she watched Kim firmly grip the knife's handle tightly. Shego didn't know how to react when she saw Kim's left hand grip the blade tightly, and then yanked the blade out of her closed hand quickly; tearing open the flesh of her hand.

"Ron, I'll make sure no one goes through this. That no one ever has to suffer like this." Kim said as she raised her injured hand above Ron's grave and squeezed it tightly, making a few drops of crimson fall from the wound and onto the ground. "On my blood, I'll give you the world." Kim said to the grave.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Shego asked herself as she felt the winds start to pick up and surround her again. When the Gail force winds stopped, Shego was in wide eyed wonder at the tremendous command center they were in.

There were massive computers lining the wall along with dozens of fifty by fifty foot screens on each wall. Each screen displayed multiple images and broadcasts from regular news reports to technical readouts. In the center of the large command center was a large chair with multiple controls on the arm rests, but it was vacant. There was one large opening in one wall with a large balcony. The only other time she saw a balcony like that was watching one of the Star Wars prequels.

Standing out on that balcony was a lone figure. The figure was wearing a white body suit with pieces of it glowing with a blue light. The figure was looking out over a very advanced hi-tech metropolis as her red hair blew in the wind.

"Supreme one?" a tall African American man said as he walked up to the lone figure with a data pad in hand. Shego recognized the tall man, but it took her a minute or two to figure it out.

"The nerd linger? The computer geek that makes all of Princess' gadgets? Damn, he filled out nicely." Shego said as she saw all the muscles on the man's body.

"What is it, Wade?" the figure asked him.

"We've just received reports from all our forces. The last of the rebellion has been destroyed." The young man reported sadly.

"All of them?" the figure asked.

"It's been confirmed. All of them are either captured or dead." The young man said.

"Good. What about their technology?" the figure asked him.

"All of it has been reversed engineered and is heavily encrypted in our computers. No one will have access to them." Wade said before an echoing gunshot placed a bullet in between his eyes and blew the back of his head over the floor and walls.

"Neither will you, old friend." The figure said coldly as they placed the gun back into the holster.

Shego couldn't believe what she had just seen. For no reason, that person killed him. It was so cold and unfeeling; not even Shego would do something like that. She looked back up to the figure and saw the murderer calmly walk back into the throne room with a small smirk on her face. Shego couldn't believe who it was. The hair's length had been to just below her ears and a scar ran from her hair line to her chin, but there was no mistake. It was Kim Possible. She had killed her own friend. And the one thing about her attire that caught her eye was the knife with the neon green handle what was attached to her wrist.

Shego watched as she walked to her throne and saw a large cylinder rise from the ground and stop with a loud hiss. A protective covering retracted to show a glass case with something inside of it. Shego slowly walked around this colder version of Kim, knowing she wasn't going to like what she was going to see in that case. When she finally walked around Kim and had a clear view of the case, she felt like she was going to be violently ill.

In the case was _her_! Her body had been stuffed and mounted like a trophy animal as a pair of dead glass eyes looked at her and Kim. This was beyond evil, this was sick and wrong! It was Wrong-Sick!

"I've done it, Shego. I finally succeeded where you and Drakken always screwed up. I conquered the world. It was so easy since I spent the first of half of my life watching how you and the others fucked it up. I know it might seem crazy to have had your cold dead corpse dug up and mounted, but I needed inspiration. Since it was you that took the one thing I needed in my life. Even if we had broken up, I knew he would always be my friend and be there for me. And you robbed me of him!

"Even when you said it was one of your goons that did it before Will Du shot you in the back, I knew you always had a hand in it. Even when that henchman admitted it while I slit his fucking throat with your knife, I still knew it was your fault. So I did what you never could. I took over the world. Oh. And Wade? I knew he had been the leader of the resistance for quite some time now. I just needed the perfect moment to take him down. Now since I'm the Supreme ruler of the world, I don't need this anymore." Kim said as she withdrew the knife from its sheath.

Kim opened the case and slowly walked up to the well preserved corpse, her smile never leaving her face. With one forceful downward blow, she jammed the knife through the top of Shego's head up to the hilt and broke the handle off of the blade. As Kim stepped out of the case, she tossed the handle aside as she walked to another cylinder that was rising out of the ground. Shego could easily see what was in the tube besides the frost that covered most of it. It was Ron Stoppable's body, being perfectly preserved. Shego could only feel nothing but guilt and remorse as she saw Kim hold the tube like she was trying to hold the body inside.

"I did it, Ron. I got you the world as a Hanukah present. Now it can just be you and me from now on." She said to the frozen corpse inside.

"This isn't right." Shego said to herself as tears ran down her face uncontrollably. "I never wanted this." Shego said as she began to weep, glancing at what was left of her body and back to Kim and Ron's body.

"**It doesn't matter what you wanted, these shadows are a result of what you've chosen to do."** The ghost said to her.

"I didn't want this. I never wanted all this; all this death. I'll change. I'll change. Please, just let me undo all this." She cried as she looked at the spirit for any sign of emotion or comfort. She received none.

Instead, the figure lifted his gloves up to his hood and pulled it back to reveal its face. Shego gasped in horror as more tears began to flow down her face. The image this ghost had chosen, its face was that of Shego's lost love John. The hair, the eyes, everything down to the last detail that was once John's face was glaring right back at her with nothing but contempt.

"Don't do this. Please, don't let this happen. I'll change! I'LL CHANGE! I DON'T WANT THIS TO HAPPEN, I WON'T LET THIS HAPPEN! I SWEAR TO GOD, I WON'T LET THIS HAPPEN! I'LL CHANGE! I'LL CHANGE! I'LL CHANGE!" Shego screamed at the top of her lungs as everything began to fade to black. Even the ghost himself began to disappear. "I'LL CHANGE! I'LL CHANGE!" Shego screamed into the empty void of the dark.

* * *

"I'LL CHANGE!" Shego screamed, wanting this nightmarish horror to end as she continued to weep.

As she cried and let her anguish out, she began to feel something. Something was rubbing against her skin. Something soft. She opened her eyes and wiped away the tears that were in her eyes. What she saw was green. She put her hand against the soft fabric and realized it was silk. She sat up and threw the fabric off of her and realized it was her silk sheets. She was at her apartment! She was in her own bed! She was back! Wait a minute. What was today, though?

She leapt from her bed and made her way through the living room and to the front door as quick as she could. She deactivated the locks and almost ripped the door out of its frame as she looked down and saw nothing. Where was her damn morning paper? Wait, she forgot. She canceled her subscription a week ago. It would take her forever to get that damn computer of hers up and going or to get a cab to the docks where her spare hovercraft was. As she growled to herself in annoyance, she noticed there was someone down the hall. It was one of the custodial staff! He could tell her!

"HEY YOU!" Shego shouted as she ran down the hall to talk to the person.

"Yes? Whoa!" the middle aged man said as Shego stopped right in front of him.

"I know this is going to sound weird, but I need you to tell me what day it is." Shego said, but noticed that his gaze was fixed to her chest. She knew she had well-developed breasts, but this was ridiculous. "HEY!" She shouted, making the man look up. "What's today?" she asked him.

"Sorry. Um, the twenty-fifth. Christmas Day." He told her.

"Christmas Day? YES! Thank God, I didn't miss it! Thank," Shego stopped when she saw that the guy was looking at her chest again. "Jeez, this guy is worst than a teenager. Would mind not starring?" she asked him.

"S-sorry ma'am. It's hard not to." He told her.

"Why's that?" she asked him.

"Um – well. Don't you feel a draft?" he asked her.

Shego raised a questioning eyebrow at the man as she lowered her gaze. Her eyes grew wide when she noticed she was as naked as the day she was born. She forgot she always slept in the nude when she was at her own place. A small blush crept onto her face as she looked back up again.

"Oops. Um, I gotta go now." Shego said as she walked back to her apartment at a rather quick pace and slammed the door close.

"I wonder if the wife is going to have a headache tonight." The man said as he walked off to try and finish his rounds.

* * *

Hego sipped on a mug of warm hot chocolate as his brothers argued over whose gift was better. He chuckled to himself as he listened to them and enjoyed it. Just like every year. It always brought a smile to his face when the whole family was together. Well, almost everyone. He let out a slow sigh as he glanced to the empty green chair.

"Hey, Hego! Incoming video call!" Mego shouted to the older sibling.

"Thanks, Mego." Hego said as he turned to face the screen, getting into his hero mode. "This is Team Go, what's the trouble?" Hego asked as the large monitor came to life, and was astonished to see who it was. "Sis?" he asked.

"Hey, Henry. How are you guys doing?" she asked him.

"W-we're all fine. Not to sound rude, but why are you calling?" he asked his younger sister.

"I've had a lot of time to think about a couple of things. And I was hoping if I could come visit you guys around New Year's" Shego said to her brother.

"Well – Uh, sure. I guess that's okay. But why the sudden change?" he asked.

"I finally got the swift kick in the ass I needed. I figured I might as well spend as much time as I can with you guys since we don't know what'' happen in the future." Shego said.

"Wow. As you know, sis, you're welcome into the Go Tower anytime you want." Hego said to her.

"Thanks. And before I forget; the name of the boat that took everyone to Gilligan's Island is the S.S. Menno. Sorry, but no points this round." Shego said with a laugh.

"How did you?"

"Night, Henry." She said as she cut the feed.

"I'll never understand women." Henry said as he drank his cocoa.

* * *

"Morning guys." Mark said as he entered the lair, still fully decked out in the Christmas decorations from last night.

Everyone was still just chit-chatting about various things, including the reactions on the faces of some of their families that morning. A few sipped on fresh Egg Nog while others were snacking on Christmas theme pastries and various other foods. The sounds of Trans-Siberian Orchestra playing Christmas Canon Rock were echoing through the massive room while everyone smiled and laughed. Until the doors flew open to show a very, very angry looking Shego standing there.

"Morning, Boss." One henchman said to her.

"Zip it! Now I'm going to ask you all something, and I better get a straight fucking answer! What the hell are all of you doing?" she asked them.

"W-we were – just having a C-Christmas party ma'am." One spoke up.

"A Christmas party? On Christmas Day?" she asked them.

"Yes, ma'am." Another said.

"Well, isn't that perfect? You're all here celebrating Christmas instead at your homes?" she asked them, but receiving no response. "How about this? You all can go home and celebrate the holidays with your families until New Year's. Because when you get back," Shego said, pausing for a minute.

"Here it comes." One of her men said to himself, feeling about ready to pass out.

"You all are going to get one big ass – raise!" Shego said and laughed when she saw all the confused and shocked expressions on her men's faces. "You heard me. I'm giving you all one huge raise, and time off until after New Year's." Shego said to them.

"Is this a drill?" one man asked.

"No, it's not. I had a lot of time to think about it, and all you guys deserve to spend time with your friends and families. So you can continue with your party and go home when you like; but, you've all got free vacation time. Merry Christmas." Shego said as she left the room filled with confused henchmen.

She actually felt really good today. She felt better than she had in a long time. She meant what she had said during her visit to one possible future. She was going to change, and she wasn't going to put it off. That reminded her of the gift Ron had left her. She hurried to the room she kept at the lair, and saw the gift was where Stoppable had left it. She picked up the package wrapped in green wrapping paper and smiled.

The card on it said it was from a friend. She did need more friends in her life, maybe it would be nice to sit down and actually try to get along with Ron. Kim was a different story. No, she had to try. No one said this was going to be easy. She went into her room and quickly tore off the wrapping paper. Her smile began to widen when she saw it was a box from Club Banana and quickly opened it. A small gasp escaped her lips as she saw what Ron had gotten her. It was an elegant black strapless dress that she had her eye on for a while. It attached at the neck and left the back of it open. She also knew it was very expensive and must have set Stoppable back more than just a penny or two. There was a note attached to it, but she pocketed it for now. She couldn't help but smile at the gift as she carefully placed it back into the box. She should do something nice for Ron in return. A smile began to cross her lips as she began to think of something and walked to her cell phone. Time to see if she still had a few connections here and there.

* * *

"Come on, Hanna. Sing the Snowman Hank song." Ron said to his little sister. He had been trying since the night before Christmas Eve to teach her the theme to Snowman Hank. All he got in return for the thirty something time was a laugh and a raspberry. "I think it was easier trying to teach you how to fight." Ron said as his little sister gave him a hug.

"She's only two years old, Ron. She's not going to learn it over night." Kim said to him.

"Well, I did!" Ron said as he made a make shift pout.

"Well, you're special." Kim said as she tickled the little girl in the ribs. All three were laughing when they heard the doorbell ring. It was still early in the morning and Kim's mom and Dad were at a local Christmas carnival that the hospital was sponsoring while Ron's parents were doing some last minute Hanukah shopping.

"Are you expecting anyone over?" Kim asked Ron.

"No. I wonder who it is." Ron said as he stood and unlocked the door. "Mom? Dad? What are you guys doing back so soon?" Ron asked as his parents walked in.

"We met one of your friends at the store." Ron's dad said as he took off his coat.

"She was so generous. She bought the rest of the Hanukah gifts and even bought us enough food to last us until pass over." Mrs. Stoppable said as she hung up her coat and scooped Hanna in her arms.

"Wow. Did she say who she was?" Kim asked the Stoppables.

"No, she didn't. She did want us to give you this though." Mr. Stoppable said as he removed a card from his pocket and handed it to Ron.

"What is it?" Kim asked.

"It's an invitation for a Christmas Party later tonight. You know what that means little buddy? Free food! Booyah!" Ron said, talking to the naked mole rat in his pants pocket.

"BOOYAH!" the little rodent echoed as his mouth watered at the idea of free food that would soon occupy his little stomach.

"Maybe we should get Wade to check it out first." Kim said as she took the card from Ron's hand and examined the card.

"Cone on, KP. It's Christmas Day. No one would try to do anything today." Ron said.

"What about Drakken that year?" Kim asked him.

"The year Snowman Hank was canceled. I still tear up when I think about it. WHY DO THE GOOD THINGS DIE SO YOUNG?" Ron shouted as he fell to his knees in tears.

"Easy Snow boy. We'll go." Kim said as she patted his shoulder.

"Booyah!"

* * *

"Are we at the right place?" Ron asked as the came to a very tall, five star hotel in the heart of New York City.

"I think so. It's the right address." Kim said as she checked the invitation.

"Who do we know that could afford a Christmas Party here?"

"I don't know, Ron. I guess will find out." Kim said as they walked in and were astounded by the grand architecture inside the lobby. Everyone around them were wearing the best top designs from around the world. Suddenly, Kim and felt somewhat underdressed by just wearing some pants and T-Shirts under their coats.

"May I help you?" the manager asked the two young people.

"We received this earlier for a Christmas Party?" Kim asked as she handed the man the invitation.

"Oh, yes. Just take the elevator to the top floor. The party and its host are in the penthouse." The manager told them after carefully inspecting the card.

"Our host rented the penthouse?" Kim asked.

"No, madam. She owns the penthouse." The manager told them and pointed to the elevator they needed.

Is it just me, or is this getting weirder and weirder?" Kim asked Ron as they stepped inside the elevator.

"Maybe just a tad bit weird." Ron said as he hit the button to the top floor.

When the doors opened, Kim and Ron received another shock when they saw several of the people they knew back in Middleton waiting at the doors to the penthouse. There was Monique, Kim and Ron's friend from High School, Felix with his girlfriend Zita Flores, Bonnie and her boyfriend Senor Senior Junior, Tara and Josh, and the one person Ron hoped not to see for a while.

"MR. BARKIN?" Ron asked.

"Stoppable." Barkin curtly greeted.

"What's everyone doing here?" Kim asked.

"We all got these invitations for some Christmas Party; all expenses paid." Monique said.

"Who's throwing this thing anyhow?" Ron asked.

"I believe I can answer that." A chubby young man said as he opened the door to the penthouse and stepped out.

"Wade, what are you doing here?" Ron asked him.

"I got an invitation too, but I was a little suspicious. So the benefactor of this little shindig let me scan and check everything to make sure there wasn't anything funny." Wade said.

"So, everything's cool?" Felix asked.

"Amazingly, yeah. From what I can tell, it's a real party." Wade said, starting to look as confused as he was.

"But who's the one throwing this for us?" Kim asked him.

"That would be me, Princess." Shego said as she stepped behind Wade.

Kim was instantly posed for a fight as soon as she saw the thief maker herself known, but Ron and the other men only stood with their jaws opened as they saw her in the black dress that hugged her frame elegantly, emphasizing each and every curve. The dress was strapless, but was held up at the neck while leaving her shoulders and back exposed, and a small diamond cut in the front that exposed part of her very developed cleavage.

"What are you up to this time?" Kim asked, already tensing for any attack.

"Nothing, Kimmie. I just decided to do something nice for you for the holidays." Shego told her calmly as she was doing her best to try and keep her sarcasm in check.

"I find that hard to believe." Kim said.

"Believe it, Princess. That's why I had your nerd linger come over first to make sure everything's on the up and up." Shego said.

"I don't know. How do I know you're the real Wade?" Ron asked the young boy.

"You still sleep in cowboy PJ's that you grew out of years ago." Wade said, causing some of the people to snicker.

"Okay, he's Wade. Let's go party!" Ron said as he walked into the penthouse and everyone followed suit.

* * *

The party was going strong as everyone talked or danced to the Christmas rock that was playing on her stereo system. Shego's brothers had joined the party about half an hour after it started, and a few more people that Shego worked with. It was amazing what Christmas could do to people. It was very astounding to Ron as he hung around the table what had the food and punch. Ron had his fill of food for the moment, so he was just sipping a glass of punch as he watched the festivities around him. Little did he know was that he wasn't alone.

"Merry Christmas, Ron." Shego said as she got herself a glass of punch.

"Oh, Merry Christmas Shego. Thanks for the party. I mean, it's just a blast." Ron said.

"Thanks." Shego said. "Thank you for the gift, by the way."

"Your welcome. I figured it was your style when I saw it, but I just didn't know you'd look so – I mean – wow." Ron said and blushed as he kept looking at Shego who only laughed at his state.

"This must have set you back a few pennies though." Shego said.

"I still get my Naco royalties. Dad set up a savings account, so I can only access so much until I'm twenty-two." Ron said.

"I really love it. There's just one thing that bothers me about it." Shego said.

"What's that?" Ron asked.

"Won't this make Kim a little uneasy? I mean, she is your girlfriend." Shego asked him.

"You didn't read the note that was with the dress, did you?" Ron asked her as he sipped a little more of his punch.

"I didn't really have time to. To tell you the truth, I pulled all of this out of my ass at the last minute. However, I did get you this." She said to him as she handed him a package that was wrapped with wrapping paper that had menorahs and the Star of David al over it.

Ron quickly ripped off the paper to see what the gist was and gasped when the paper was ripped away.

"You got me the Special Edition, two disk, twentieth anniversary edition of the trials of Snowman Hank?" he asked her as he gawked at both the present and the woman that had given it to him.

"I had a few connections here and there. You were saying something about a note?" she asked him.

"Oh! Well, the note kind of explained why I got you the dress."

"Oh?"

"You see, the long distant relationship thing didn't work out between me and her." Ron said.

"I'm sorry." Shego said.

"It's okay. We didn't do a lot, so we're basically just best friends again. But the note was also asking – you know, I was just wondering if – if," Ron said as he started to partially sweat and blush.

"Ron, are you asking me out on a date?" Shego asked him.

"I can't blame you if you say no. It was a long shot and I," Ron stopped as soon as Shego placed a finger on his lips as she chuckled.

"First off, you know I'm older than you. Right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, are you sure Kim's okay with this?" Shego asked the young man.

"Of course she's sure. She said so."

"Take it from me Ron, women lie about things just as much as guys do. I'd talk to her first and make sure she's okay with you dating someone else. Especially if it's me. Who knows what she'll do if you don't." She told him as she shivered at the memory of an older and colder Kim jabbing a knife through the top of her skull.

"I guess that would be the smart thing to do." Ron said, feeling a little rejected.

"So how's Friday night at eight?" Shego asked as she laughed at Ron's double take.

"Y-you're serious?" Ron asked her.

"Yeah. It's been a while since I've gone out with a good guy. It might be nice to try and start doing it again." Shego said with a small smirk.

"Wow. Um, how about dinner and a movie?" he asked her.

"Sounds great." Shego said.

"Great. I'll even cook if you want. I'm a wiz with pasta. Or Mexican, Greek,"

"Just surprise me." Shego chuckled.

"Great! Well – I'll go talk to Kim and make sure she doesn't have any hard on. I mean feelings! I mean – I'll shut up now. See you Friday. Oh, I like that broach." Ron said as he walked away with a smile so wide that he could probably shove the entire punch bowl in his mouth.

Shego chuckled at the way Ron was acting. It was good to actually let her emotions out again. She turned to refill her glass when she noticed something in the punch bowl. The broach she was wearing, the one John had given her, was different. She set down the glass and quickly picked up one of the solver spoons that sat on the table. She concentrated on the reflection and couldn't believe what she saw. The once pitch black rock that sat in her broach had now changed color to a beautiful sky blue. He told her it was the same stone you found in mood rings, and it looked like he was right.

"Thank you, John." She said to herself.

Shego continued to watch everyone enjoy themselves and realized for the first time, for in a very long time, she actually enjoyed the Holidays. It was a feeling she really and truly missed. She guessed being human wasn't so bad after all. She looked at the star filled night sky and let out a content sigh.

"Peace on Earth, and Good Will toward everyone." Shego said as she listened to the sounds of Manheim Steamroller playing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.


	5. Epilog

CHRISTMAS

MIRACLE

By FAH3

**Epilog**

"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night." She read and closed the book. She checked the bed that was on her left, and then looked at the bed to her right. A small smile spread across her face as she saw the occupants were sound asleep. It was only seven thirty in the evening, but the two of them couldn't wait for Santa Claus to arrive. She carefully put the old book back in the book case, and stood and let her back muscles stretch and the bones pop and loosen.

She went to the bed on her right, and pulled the covers up to the six-year-old boys chin and carefully placed a kiss on his forehead before stroking his blonde hair. She moved to the other bed and did the same with the three-year-old girl and stroked a few stray strands of raven hair our of her eyes. She couldn't help but smile at the sight of both of them sleeping soundly. They could be a tremendous pain in the ass at times, but she would never give them up.

She slowly stepped out of the bed room and slowly closed the door shit. It was going to be bad enough when they got up at four in the morning for their gifts, and she didn't want them to get a leading start.

"Not bad, Shego." A voice said behind her. She had to do her best to hold back a scream when she spun around and saw non other than the ghost of Dr. Drakken standing in front of her like he had all those years ago.

"Drakken? What the hell?" she asked him.

"I'm sorry. I just had to visit you again." He said.

"Wait, what are you doing here? I changed like I said I would, I listened to those ghosts like you told me to! Look at my life now!" she said to him as she remembered the last time he visited.

"Relax Shego, its nothing like that. I wanted to see how you were doing, and to tell you that I got paroled." He told her.

"Paroled? You got out of hell?" she asked him.

"Shego, do you think God would make us pay for all eternity if he really loves us? His method really is a rehabilitation program." He told her.

"Wow. So what's next for you? Heaven?" she asked him.

"Don't know. I can choose that, or I can choose reincarnation and get to live life all over again. I haven't decided yet."

"How long do you have to think about it?" she asked him.

"All eternity. And I don't know if God would like my idea of heaven." Drakken said.

"Let me guess. World Domination?" she asked him.

"Nope. To live the entire series of M.A.S.H. like it was real life as one of the characters." Drakken said with a smile.

"As Hawkeye?"

"Nope. As Radar." Drakken said with a chuckle.

"Even in death, I think you still kill brain cells just by talking." She said as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Well, I hope you enjoy whatever you chose." She said to him, not really wanting her husband or kids seeing her talk to a ghost.

"Before I go, I just need to tell you one thing. Shego, you are the closest thing I will have to a daughter in my past life. And I'm very proud of the women you've become. And if that idiot husband of yours gives you any grief, I'll come back and haunt him." Drakken said and actually made Shego chuckle at the idea of Drakken trying to scare anyone.

"Well, it's nice to hear you got a reprieve. Enjoy your – afterlife?" she asked.

"Close enough. Merry Christmas, Shego." He said.

"Actually, it's Shelia." She told him.

"Oh. Then Merry Christmas, Shelia." Drakken said as he slowly faded from sight.

Shego shook her head as a few memories from a certain Christmas years ago began to come back. That was a different time and a different her. Now she had a new life, and actually enjoyed it. She peeked on the sleeping children one more time before heading downstairs to see how her husband was fairing at trying to play Santa again.

As soon as she stepped off the stairs, her eyes rolled as she saw her husband sitting in front of the tree while trying to put a bicycle together.

"I think you were born with ten thumbs instead of fingers." She said as she took a seat beside him.

"You know, we could have bought one that was already made." He told her as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Then where would the fun be?" she asked as she muffled his unruly blonde hair.

"You put me in a kitchen with a stocked fridge, and I can have a meal fit for thirty kings ready in a few minutes. But with this stuff?" he asked as she tried looking at the instructions again.

"Honey?" his wife asked him.

"What?" he asked as he looked at her and saw that she already had half the bike already assembled. "You're good. My wife the school teacher and mechanic." He said to her.

"You know it. It's only seven-thirty. How about we take a break?" she asked him.

"You read my mind." He said as he stood and slumped into the couch. A wide smile formed when his wife lay on top of him while resting her head on his chest. "The tree looks good. I thought we'd never get it done." He said.

"You mean with the kids eating the popcorn strings?" she asked him.

"And the candy canes. And thinking the clay gingerbread men were real cookies." Ron said.

"That was your fault. You thought Johnny's class made ornament was a cookie when he brought it home." She told him.

"That thing still didn't taste right." He said, making his wife laugh. "You do remember our agreement for next year, right?" he asked her.

"I know. Next year, we get a Hanukah bush." She said. "It's only close to eight, right?" she asked him.

"Yeah."

"How about I give you my gift tonight instead of tomorrow?" she asked him.

"What is it?" he asked her.

"That depends." She said as she stood and walked to the stairs with a little sway in her hips.

"Depends on what?" he asked her.

"How nice you've been this year." She said to him as he began to follow her.

"What if I haven't?" he asked her.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she asked sultry and gave him a longing, passionate look.

"Oh, why do you have to make me choose?" he asked as he followed her to their bedroom. Once there, he held her tightly in his arms as they shared a tender kiss. "I love, Shelia." He said to her.

"I love you to, Ron." She said as they began to kiss again.

* * *

**Autor's Note:** Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night. Peace on Earth and Good Will toward men. 


End file.
